Like Father, Like Daughter
by ADdude
Summary: After spending 16 years in another dimension Marco is finding it a little hard to readjust to his life back on Earth. Then a few days later Hekapoo shows up at his doorstep with a daughter, their daughter! Needless to say, he's going to have a lot more stuff to get used to. Cover by hntrgurl13 on tumblr
1. Chapter 1: Surprise

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of it's elements.**

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Chapter 01: Surprise

Marco was finding it hard to readjust to his old life. The smallest things seemed to get odd reactions out of him. Living in forests filled with monsters eager to gobble him up kept him on alert all the time, even in his sleep. He would wake up from the smallest sound creaking throughout the house late at night, even when it was just his own father walking down the hall to use the bathroom.

He had trouble waking up in the morning, having been used to sleeping in as late as he wanted to or could for years. Waking up at a set time every day was difficult now.

He wasn't having any luck at school, finding it a little hard to focus on classes. Classes in which he had a hard time remembering what they had covered, to him, over a decade ago. While his teachers went over concepts he wasn't able to learn about or had forgotten in another dimension, Marco constantly found himself thinking back on his adventures and how they had affected his life back on Earth.

His relationships had changed by a huge margin. None of these people he had seen for over a decade and a half. He remembered them, but it felt odd to be around them all of a sudden again. Ferguson and Alfonso were nice enough to try to give him all the space he needed. They too were trying to readjust, settling with having lunch together talking about anything and listening to him as he told them about his adventures.

Janna, simply put, was annoyed with him. She had loved getting a reaction from Marco before, but now she found it hard to get even a peep out of him. If she stole anything from him, he didn't really care, he'd lived without such things for years. If she hid a snake in his locker, he would check to see if it was not venomous and carefully take the snake somewhere else where it could live peacefully. She should have realized that things would change when he asked for his password from her.

Miss Skullnick was noticeably worried about his 'recent' change of attitude. She had asked if anything was wrong and said that if he needed someone to talk to, she was always there for him. He'd admitted that something had changed, but he just wasn't up to talking about it at the time. He did appreciate her concern though. If anyone could understand having your life changed so suddenly it was her. He said that he was fine and that he might eventually come to talk to her, but still, she told Marco her door was always open if he wanted to talk.

Even Tom noticed something was different despite the limited time and bonding they had together. Before, they mostly played ping-pong, but Marco was usually never much of a challenge for Tom back then. Now, after he had come back, things changed between them. Sure, Tom still had his demon powers and everything, but Marco had started to close the gap between them. In fact, he was actually eager to make Tom push him more, asking for more dangerous games to play. Marco seemed more at ease with the demon just for the fact that he provided a challenge to him. Tom, however, wasn't used to Marco of all people feeling this way about him, something that made him uneasy at times. He just didn't know what to make of this new Marco.

Jackie, on the other hand, was more than a little worried, and that was to be expected when they hadn't even been on more than one date when this kind of development came up between them. She was unsure of what it meant for them, where they would go from here. To be honest, even he didn't know where their relationship would go on out from here. He had accepted that he would never see Jackie again years ago, and now when he tried to take her out on a date, his stomach never fluttered and his heart never jumped like they used to anymore. Not since those years he'd spent chasing Hekapoo had come to an end.

Marco could tell that Sensei had sensed a different flame within him, that he had changed. Movements that felt strange and forced, from fighting in a body he wasn't used to anymore, told a great deal to his old master. Marco was still skilled in the martial art, but it wasn't easy getting used to fighting in his fourteen-year old body again. At he still had the drive to perfect himself, though he felt a tad conflicted and guilty when his mind occasionally thought of looking for another sensei, one that could help him regain the other skills he had now lost. Thoughts he sometimes felt that his sensei could hear but didn't show it.

With Pony Head, he found her talking to him with a surprising amount of respect at times, much more than he expected out of her. According to her, he now had this presence, this aura about him that reminded her of her kingdom's best knights and warriors. Marco didn't know how she got that impression from him considering he just acted like he did normally, but then again, his definition of normality had changed so much that he didn't know where to start. Maybe it was his adult life unconsciously bleeding into his actions, or that he had forgotten what it was like to act like a fourteen-year old again, which was a sobering thought in itself.

But out of everyone, his parents were the most concerned. When Star gave the shortened version of what happened with Hekapoo to them, they had been shocked and scared, but he told them he was fine and that he just wanted to get things back to normal. He still helped around the house, went back to school, and was as kind as ever, but every interaction with them seemed distant and almost forced, a stark contrast to the closeness they once shared. More than once, they had walked in on the middle of his new training regime to bring his current body back to it's 'original' shape, and Marco could see the worried look in their eyes every time when they couldn't find anything to say to him and left.

So maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise when he woke up Saturday morning and went downstairs to find just about everyone he knew waiting for him.

His teacher, his friends, his sensei, his family, and whatever Tom would be classified as were all sitting in the living room on the couch, waiting for him.

"Marco," Rafael spoke in a calm, tired voice, "would you please sit down for a talk?"

"Ah… Okay, is something the matter?" Marco looked around as he took a seat front of everyone, his instincts flaring up as he suddenly felt the need to bolt. He glanced at the window, realizing that it was probably the easiest escape route, but not trusting that he would be able to make it out in his current teenage state and body. That, and he knew deep down this was something that had long been coming.

Angie smiled sadly at her son. "Marco, we're all worried about you. We know a lot has happened to you and…" She bit her lip, stopping in the middle of her sentence.

"And what?" Marco asked.

"We just want you to talk about it." Star said, speaking what was on everyone's minds.

"I-I-I don't feel like talking."

Skullnick spoke up. "Marco, please, we're trying to understand-"

"I do appreciate that, I really do. I get that you're worried about me, that you're all concerned and want to understand." Marco felt tired, almost as if his real age was finally catching up with his body. "The thing is...you just can't understand what happened to me."

"Marco." Star looked at him. "I told them everything. I told them that you lived 16 years in another dimension. I told them all about how you almost didn't come back home. We all know about that. We just...We just want to make sure you're okay."

Marco opened his mouth to respond, but Jackie spoke before a word could come out. "Maybe it would help if you talk to us about it. Help us understand what you're going through a little better." She sniffled, her eyes starting to tear up and fill Marco's heart with guilt. "You've just been so distant lately."

Marco closed his mouth and was silent for a moment, his eyes cast downward. His throat was strangely dry, and he struggled to swallow. Looking up, he stared into the faces of his worrying parents, his friends and family. "I'm...sorry. I'm sorry I've been so distant. I-I'm not doing it on purpose, I've just been having a bit of a hard time readjusting. After everything that I've seen and done, it's just so...hard to go back to life back here on Ear-"

Knock knock.

The sound coming from the front door interrupted what he was trying to say.

Everyone turned to the door as the knocking continued.

Rafael got up to answer the door, intending to ask whoever was knocking to politely leave.

Opening the door, he said, "Hello, I'm sorry, but me and my family are in the mid-"

He stopped when he saw a swirling, orange-red portal in front the door, a pale white hand coming from it. Quickly enough, a young woman with long red hair, a pair of yellow horns, and an yellow-orange dress stepped out of the portal, which vanished once she fully emerged.

"Yeah, sorry to be a bother, but does anyone named Marco Diaz live here?"

"Hekapoo?!" Marco cried out from his seat, standing up at hearing such a familiar voice.

"Hekapoo?" Star, Tom, and Pony Head also exclaimed, the latter two rather put off by her unexpected appearance. They pulled back a little from their spots on the couch as Hekapoo came through the door, the others following suit.

Hekapoo turned her attention to Marco and waved. "Hey Marco!"

"Oh, is this the girl you were chasing for 16 years?" Angie asked, both concerned with the girl related to all the recent changes in everyone's lives and wondering what purpose said girl could be here for.

"Yeah, uh, she is," Marco admitted, rubbing the back of his head, "She's the ruler of her dimension and the forger of dimensional scissors. She's also a very good friend of mine."

"Hello!" Rafael greeted her, shaking her hand with what could almost be called a smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you!" Angie added, a similar expression on her face. "We're Marco's parents. Why don't you sit down and we'll make you a nice cup of tea?"

Hekapoo awkwardly took a seat on the couch as the rest of the group moved to make a space for her. The living room was silent except for the sound of Marco's parents making tea in the kitchen. Everyone just sat in silence, waiting to see who would break it first.

Finally, Marco decided that it would be him.

"Hekapoo, what are you doing here?" He asked. "You're not typically one to visit people."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" She shrugged. "I had something to tell you."

"Me?" Marco raised an eyebrow, then widened his eyes as fear crept down his spine. "Did something happen to Nachos?"

"Nonono!" She held out her hands. "Nachos is fine."

"Nachos?" Jackie whispered to Star.

"Oh, she's a dragon-cycle that Marco tamed. It's really dope. Super cute too."

Ignoring the side conversation, Marco continued on. "So what did you want to tell me? Is something wrong with my dimensional scissors or something?"

Hekapoo snorted at that. "First off, no. My scissors are always top grade and made to last. Experience any trouble with a pair of dimensional scissors? That's a counterfeit." She clicked her tongue and shook her head as she recalled some of the shoddy knockoffs she'd encountered before. "Who would even make a dimensional chainsaw? Unstable piece of junk that would of course get jammed."

"So what bring you here then?" Marco leaned closer to her.

Marco's parents brought in the tea for their guest, placing it on the coffee table before her.

Hekapoo took a moment to pick her words, but couldn't find anything to say. Eventually putting her hands in her lap, she sighed. "You know, I planned on just telling you this alone, but maybe it's for the best that your parents are here as well."

The Diazes looked on, wondering what it could be that she wanted to tell them.

Suddenly, a swirling orange vortex formed in the middle of the room, opening wide before them.

A loud roar ripped through the portal along with the sound of flapping wings and a powerful rumbling. The other guests all tumbled backwards, trying to get away from the portal as a girl shot out on a familiar dragon-cycle, Nachos. She seemed to be in great health and was happy to see her old friend, even in his current body, but everyone was more preoccupied with who was on top of said dragon-cycle.

Stunned, the Diazes looked at the girl, who unnervingly resembled a teenage version of Angie. Her flowing red hair, strikingly similar to Hekapoo's but with a brownish tint, was held together by a torn-y scrunchie as a pair of yellow horns poked out the top of her hair. A pair of bright amber eyes glimmered as she brushed off the dust from her red hoodie and yellow shirt, black pants, and brown boots, taking her time as she got off Nachos. She smirked, small fangs poking out of her mouth as she did. "Hey there!"

Hekapoo's palm met her face as a tired sigh escaped her lips. "I really need to time these things better. I always forget about the time difference between dimensions." She took a deep breath, an awkward smile and wince crossing her face as she gestured towards the strange girl. "Marco, this is my daughter. Our daughter."

"WHAT?!" Everyone yelled as all chaos broke loose in the living room.

"Sup, pops!" The young girl greeted cheerfully.

"WHAT?!" Marco repeated even louder as the world started to swirl around him.

Right before he blacked out, he barely made out Pony Head in the background. "Dang, wouldn't have thought Marco would have had it in him. Like, seriously."

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 **Author's Notes: First off this idea came from a fan comic done by Moringmark on tumblr. The basic design of the character is based on the fan comic. I'm planning on making her look a bit different as the story goes on, give her different outfit and make her more separate from her parents. I had an idea and planned for this chapter to be longer but then I realized something…. I didn't have a name in mind for her. So, yeah, I'll work on that if you have any suggestions let me know and when I got a name we will continue. Let me know what you think in a review and if you have any ideas for the name. Then I'll continue the story about Marco being a teenaged father to a teenaged daughter. Yeah, things are going to get a little wild, things are going to get a little weird.**

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 **Beta Notes: First off, it's been a great honor to be invited in to work on this project. I've helped clean up and flesh out a few parts of this chapter, and I hope that you guys will enjoy the rest of this crazy, crazy trip with me. This is IdeaGenerator, signing off.**


	2. Chapter 2: Meet the Parents

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

 **Special Thanks to my beta IdeaGenerator**

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Chapter 02: Meet the Parents

Marco's mind felt sluggish as he opened his eyes. He groaned as he put a hand to his head, his fingers brushing against a sore-feeling bump. Trying to get up and wincing at the pain, he noticed he was laying on the couch in the living room from the sensation of the cushions underneath him. All he could really see at the moment were unclear blobs of color, but he could tell that the biggest ones to him had to be his parents, no mistake about it. Sitting up, he yawned and stretched his arms, smacking his lips.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad. You wouldn't believe what just happened. I just had the _weirdest_ dream..."

"That wasn't a dream," a familiar female voice, one that was just in his dream, said. "You just fainted."

Marco blinked in surprise and confusion as his eyes finally began to make out the concerned faces of his friends, his family, and a certain red haired girl. Actually, make that two red haired girls. An awkward silence fell over him as the events of his 'dream' started to rush back to him, especially what Hekapoo came to tell him.

"…So, um, how long was I out?" Marco said with a wince, trying to cut the tension in the room.

"Long enough for this tea to go cold."

Hekapoo's- _his_ -daughter snapped her fingers and a small ball of fire formed in her palm. She moved the flame closer to the tea cup, heating the cup up until it started to boil, and handed it to her mother.

"Ah, thanks sweetie." Hekapoo smiled before taking a sip of the now warm tea.

A small distance away, Jackie, standing with the others, scratched the back of her head. She didn't know what to think or feel at the moment, especially with how Marco was involved with the whole situation. "Uh, should we even be here right now? This seems _way_ too personal. Maybe we should lea- _Mmmfph"_

She grasped at the pair of hands covering her mouth, but Janna shook her head slowly, a reignited fire in her eyes and a large smile creeping across her face. "No, this is too juicy to leave alone."

Thankfully, before the situation could get any more stranger than it already was, Alfonso and Ferguson arrived with handfuls of snacks from the kitchen and started passing them out.

"Janna, we got your popcorn, Sensei, I got you an apple, and Miss Skullnick, Ferguson found you some chips."

"Really? An apple?" Janna questioned, letting go of the poor skater's mouth and popping some corn into her mouth.

"I can't have too much. Mom is making meatloaf tonight," Sensei told her.

"Keep quiet, I don't want to miss anything," Skullnick said, shushing them. "As the one that's going to have to file a report on this for the district and not leave any detail out, I demand silence!"

Pony Head grumbled to herself, already getting her phone out. "I have _got_ to text Chelsey about this. She's gonna flip when she hears this!"

Tom, however, put his hand over her phone. "Uh, that _may_ not be such a good idea Pony Head. Chelsey is a gossip and, if word of this gets out, Hekapoo _will_ track it down. To you." He silently tilted his head towards Hekapoo, who was still talking with Marco and thankfully wasn't paying attention to the others' conversations. "You probably should not try to get her attention that way, especially with those…'things' you found."

"…Ah…Maybe Chelsey doesn't need to know about this."

Jackie sighed, tired of being kept in the dark of who this stranger was and why it would be such a bad idea to tick her off. "Okay, so just _who_ is she?"

Pony Head and Tom just stared at her as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"Seriously? Humans don't know who Hekapoo is?" Pony Head said, an incredulous look on her face.

Getting a clueless shake of the head and a shrug from Jackie, Tom began to explain. "Hekapoo is the ruler of her own entire dimension. She's _the_ creator of all dimensional scissors _and_ is one of the members of Magic High Commission."

"She's one of biggest players in all the dimensions!" Pony Head said. "She's got enough power backing her that you really don't want to tick her off!"

"Is that why Star's been stuck on buffering the past few minutes?" Jackie asked, pointing towards the princess.

Star's usual heart marks on her cheeks had changed into two spinning rainbow balls, and Star herself just remained motionless, only staring off into the space before her with what appeared to be a death grip on her wand. Her right eye appeared to be twitching, a contrast to the rest of the blank expression on her face.

"Huh?" Ferguson noted. "Was that me, or did Star's wand just glow green for a moment?"

Janna shushed him before he could say anything else. "Quiet! I can't hear anything. And it looks like things just got _interesting._ "

Marco was moving his mouth, trying to get words out, but they simply weren't coming out. He looked at Hekapoo and then at the girl next to her. He didn't think Hekapoo was lying to him. She would trick and tease him back during their game of chase, but this wasn't something she'd lie about. This wasn't anything any decent person would ever lie about.

Marco looked at the girl once more. He was surprised just how much of his mother he could see in her.

He didn't know why he liked that so much.

Marco had never really given much thought about what a kid of his would look like, but he never thought that they would have any traits from his own parents. Then again, as he studied her-his daughter, he reminded himself-for a moment, small yet familiar traits started to become apparent. Her bangs reminded him of his own, and her red hoodie looked almost exactly like the pairs he had upstairs.

She had a certain look in her eyes, a look he saw every time he looked in a mirror. It was something he just couldn't describe but something too familiar to not be from himself.

Emotions he couldn't understand, ones he had never felt before, started boiling up in him. Yet, at the same time, his entire body just felt numb and unresponsive.

"Hekapoo…" Marco said, unsure of what to say next, "How?"

"How what? I'm not a mind reader you know," Hekapoo said with a smirk on her face. Her look faltered as she noticed Marco glance towards the elephant in the room currently feeding Nachos a few apples from the fruit bowl the older Diazes brought with the tea, then her expression set back in place and she turned towards her daughter. "Oh, uh, sweetie, why don't you talk with the rest of the guests and make some friends? The adults need to talk right now."

"Okay mom!" With that, she got up and beckoned Nachos to follow her to the other side of the room, where everyone were trying their best to get their act back together.

With that taken care of, Hekapoo turned back to the Diazes and put her finger on her chin. "Hm, where were we? Oh, right. 'How?' Well, Marco, you already know the answer to that. You were there when it happened," Hekapoo answered with a wry expression. "The night we had together right before you blew out my flame."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Wait!" Angie spoke up, a delayed yet sudden realization appearing in her and Rafael's eyes. "You two-"

Marco did _not_ want to have that conversation with his parents right now. "I was thirty at the time!"

He winced at the pair of soul-piercing gazes he felt upon him. "We'll talk about this later, Marco Ubaldo Diaz."

Never had he felt so much dread during the harrowing adventures he had while chasing Hekapoo as he did right now. This was _not_ something he wanted to deal with today. "I said I was thirty, okay?!"

"Well, you were in your twenties the first time," Hekapoo mumbled.

"Not helping!" Marco gulped as the intensity of his parents' glares increased tenfold. "How could you not tell me we had a daughter until she was in her teens?"

"Oh, that." For the first time he could remember, Hekapoo actually looked a little bit sheepish. "Well, it wasn't exactly intentional on my part. We know I like messing with you sometimes-well, okay, a lot-but not about anything like this. A few days after you left, I started to feel sick, but it wasn't like I thought I was pregnant at the time."

"Because you're a-"

"Yup."

"And it shouldn't be possible for-"

"Exactly."

"Then how did you find out you were pregnant?"

"I'm getting to that. So, after not getting any better for a while, I decided to go to a doctor to see what was wrong with me. But the moment I left my dimension, it actually got worse."

"But how? I mean, we're not even the same species."

"Yeah, well, the thing about cross breeding is that if both species are structurally similar enough, it can happen. But the thing is, our species aren't even that compatible. In this case, it was a complete fluke. The doctors figured that, somehow, we had met all of the impossible conditions for us to have a child."

"...Oh." Nearly everyone else in the room could almost hear the gears in Marco's head turn at this. "So, what happened? Why didn't you tell me right away?"

"Well, when I got to the hospital, I just about went into labor. The doctors were just as confused as I was. It just didn't make any sense to anyone. I mean, I was already pregnant even though it had only been days after you left. Eventually, I gave birth and the doctors ran some tests to figure out what the deal was in the first place." Here, she paused, as if trying to find the right words. Her characteristic smirk had completely disappeared in favor of a frown.

"According to what they could piece together, because she was conceived in the Afflicted Forest, where things are a bit more wonky time-wise, and because of the differences between our home dimensions' timelines, time works...differently for her. I had been in the hospital for a few days trying to figure out what to do before I took her home, and I had planned on telling you sooner, but then some...stuff happened."

"Stuff?"

"She grew, like, really fast. She's really only about a month old in relative time."

"A month?!" Marco was shocked. "She's only a month old?" he asked, looking in the direction of the girl who looked older than she had any right to be. She was trying to make small talk with the rest of the guests who looked strangely uncomfortable, which was to be expected with the given surrealism of the current situation. It was a feeling that Marco was all too familiar with at the moment.

"Yes, she is, and it only slows down when she leaves my dimension. The doctors think something in her system must have been triggered by the time dilation when we got back to my dimension. She ages rapidly in my dimension..." Hekapoo said quietly. The whole room seemed to become filled with silence as she just looked at her tea cup with a blank stare.

"She just...grew up so fast. I didn't even notice it for the first few days. Then, she was just getting so big and picking up things so fast and growing so much and-" Hekapoo sniffed- _actually sniffed_ -as tears were welling up in her eyes. She moved to hide them, but it was clear that she was wracked with sadness at the moment.

Marco saw something in her eyes, something he never thought he would see from her. He saw fear, _real_ fear, and despair. Marco ran the numbers in his head. If his daughter was already about fourteen years old in body but only about a month old, about thirty days, it would mean that for every day she lived, she would age about five months.

Marco could understand where her fear came from. In Hekapoo's dimension, with how quickly their daughter grew, it was very possible that Hekapoo could watch her grow old and pass away in less than year. This wasn't some sort of curse of immortality, this was a tragic twist of fate.

The very idea of losing someone like that was horrible. Even having just learned about his daughter, he felt like someone was crushing his own heart in a vice.

No wonder she hadn't told him sooner. She was busy raising a daughter and running a dimension alone, several years worth of child rearing all squeezed into a month.

"…but, " Hekapoo said softly, "We found out she ages normally outside my dimension. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but would you be able to take care of her?"

Marco already knew what he wanted to say, but someone else beat him to the punch.

"She can live with us," Rafael said without missing a beat.

"We would have to move some things around but it shouldn't be an issue," Angie added.

"A-are you sure?" Hekapoo asked, surprised at the lack of resistance to her request.

"Of course!" Rafael smiled broadly before moving across the room to hug the surprised young girl, unintentionally crushing her between his arms. "She's family, we would do anything to help."

Angie quickly joined in on hugging the silently gasping girl. "Besides, it gives us a chance to get to know our granddaughter."

"She takes so much after you," Rafael told his wife.

"Deary, you can just call me Grandma," Angie said.

"Call me Abuelo!"

"Gack!" Their blue-faced granddaughter gasped for breath. "Need air!"

Hekapoo smiled and gave a small, tired chuckle as the two adults released their grips on the poor girl. "I should have figured."

Marco had a kind heart. He was the kind of person who would help others whenever he could, no matter the cost. He would give even a monster a second chance if they said they wanted to be good. Hekapoo knew that much from the several times he had stopped in the middle his pursuit of her and her clones, just to help people in need. It was, in a way, a trait that she admired. One that she knew she could depend on, especially for this task.

Marco came from a family that opened their home to exchange students from all around the world, it was not hard to see where he got it from. When a reckless princess crashed into their lives, despite the dangers and the craziness she brought to their lives, they loved her like family. They were people with a lot of heart and a lot of love. That they accepted her daughter so easily was something that filled Hekapoo with joy, knowing that she could trust her daughter to their care.

Marco took a deep breath and stepped forwards, looking at the girl his parents had finally let go of. Her-his daughter's eyes locked with his own and he gulped. What was he supposed to say?

"Ah, h-hey." Marco tried to smile through the tension he felt in his face. "So, uh, i-it's nice to me-meet you. I'm Marco…I'm your dad." He held out his hand to shake hers and instantly mentally scolded himself for such a stupid idea.

"Hi!" She smiled brightly. "I'm Seraph."

"Seraph?" Marco's heart felt warm after hearing that, his smile feeling more natural than before. "T-that's a nice name."

Before Marco could say anything else, Seraph jumped over and hugged him. "Nice to meet you too, dad."

Marco's arms shook, but they slowly wrapped around her and gave her a hug. She felt warm and soft and smelled like charcoal, and before he realized it he was hugging her tighter. Marco didn't understand any of this, but he knew that he wanted to protect her and make sure she was okay. He didn't know how it was supposed to work, but he was already falling in love with this girl. _His_ girl.

Rafael and Angie smiled at their son. They recognized that same reaction as one they had a long time ago. Remembering back to when they held their son for the first time and felt those same familial instincts take hold, their eyes teared up with joy.

After a moment, Hekapoo cleared her throat. "I, uh...I guess I should leave you be and let you get settled." She got up and started to walk towards the door, but it looked more like a dead man's march. It was clear that this was something she didn't want to do, to leave her daughter behind, and that every step just tore into her heart even more and more. She tried to keep a straight face, but her true feelings poked through the cracks in her mask.

Marco wanted to say something, to comfort her, but he didn't know what. He knew she had a lot of work to get back to in her dimension, and with the Magic High Commission and the leak in the universe, she couldn't stay very long. Not even for her own daughter. Who could truly know what to say in a moment like this?

"Mom, wait!" Seraph said as she reached for her mother's hand, "Do you really have to leave right now?"

Hekapoo came to a sudden stop, her composure truly breaking down and letting her feelings known to the world. She was rooted in place for a second, struck by indecision, then she turned around and pulled her daughter tightly into her arms. Her shoulders heaved with emotion as her sobs filled the air.

"Mom, is everything okay?"

The sobs slowed as Hekapoo looked up into her daughter's eyes. Her own were puffy and streaked with tears as a caring smile crossed her face. She wiped her eyes and caressed Seraph's cheek with her hand. "Everything's fine sweetie. Mom just has to go somewhere for a little while, but I promise you that I will come to visit you as often as I can. For now, why don't you spend some time with your dad? Behave for your grandparents, have fun, and know that I love you." Hekapoo punctuated her sentence by kissing Seraph on the cheek.

"Ew! Mom!" Seraph yelled, her cheeks flushing.

Hekapoo mussed up her hair, a chuckle coming from everyone and finally breaking the tension in the room as the young girl protested against the action, though they could all tell she loved it. "I know, I know. I love you sweetie, and I'll see you soon." She stepped back and pulled out her dimensional scissors. With a smooth motion, she used them to tear a hole in space before her.

Half a step into the portal, Hekapoo paused, then turned back to look at the living room, at one boy in particular. "Marco, take care of her."

Marco gave her a respectful nod, for he had no more words left to say. With that answer, Hekapoo smiled one last time, and she stepped through, the portal closing behind her.

Marco didn't say anything, but he thought that smile was a sad one, full of unspoken hope and pain. They both knew she didn't want to be separated from their daughter. But, as the way things were right now, this was the best thing she could do for Seraph. And Marco was determined not to mess this up.

0000

Hekapoo found herself walking back into her castle, which seemed colder and more quiet than she felt it should have been. It had only been a month, but in such a short time, her little girl had become such a huge part of her life. Hekapoo had gotten used to hearing Seraph running through the halls and her screams of delight echoing off the walls. She could remember when Seraph had first said "Mama," when Seraph took her first steps, when Seraph crafted her first ordinary-not dimensional ones, of course-pair of scissors.

All of these and many more memories flooded her vision as she looked around her home, nearly everything bringing forth to mind another memory. There were the scorch marks on the floor from when Seraph tried to ride Nachos without her supervision when she was eight days old. And those were the misshapen pieces of metal from when Seraph was learning how to use the forge, up there on one of her shelves.

Hekapoo smiled a little, picking up a little metal figurine from the shelf. Seraph had tried her hand at metal artwork a week ago, crafting a statue of her mother. Her face was misshapen, her horns were pointed too closely together, and her legs weren't _that_ big, but Hekapoo loved it all the same. Turning it over, she took a look at the words Seraph had engraved into the back.

 _I will always love you mommy._

Her smile shattered as it finally hit her, what she had done. What she had to do. For her daughter's sake.

It had broken her heart when she learned about Seraph's condition, but now, she just felt numb to the world.

Hekapoo had only left for a few minutes, but it felt so much longer. Never had the castle felt so empty. And because of Seraph's condition, her daughter could _never_ come back home.

She cried.

0000

The room fell silent as the portal closed, everyone in the room looking at the space it once took up. No one was really sure who should break the silence first. They were still processing everything that had happened today, and nobody wanted to disturb the heavy atmosphere that still stayed around Hekapoo's departure. One in particular was deep in thought and concern.

For Marco right now, it was finally settling in that he had a daughter. He had a _daughter_ , whose mother had no other choice but to come to _him_ to raise his daughter. _Their_ daughter, he corrected. And he couldn't help but worry for Hekapoo, whose grief and pain he could very much understand. She was hurting inside, but Marco had faith that she would be okay someday.

But for now, the Diazes had to prepare the house for the introduction of the newest member of the family. They were going to celebrate.

"You know, I think we need... a cake!" Angie broke the silence with her cry, bringing back some energy into the atmosphere. "Let's all make a warm welcome for Seraph!"

"That's right!" Rafael agreed. "We need lots of food! We need to make a big meal-no, a _feast_ -to celebrate her homecoming!"

His enthusiasm was infectious, as the cheers from the other guests demonstrated quite clearly. " _And_ we should get her room ready!"

"I'll go get ingredients and you get her room ready." Angie said, the car keys already out in her hand.

"Got it!"

Angie ran out the front door to the car, quickly screeching down the street, while Rafael ran upstairs to get a room ready. Soon enough, the sound of thumping and things being moved around came from the ceiling.

"Wow, Grandma and Abuelo sure are…energetic." Seraph noted, both impressed and a bit taken aback by their enthusiasm.

"Yeah, they are pretty great." Marco admitted.

Behind him, Nachos moved forward and tugged at Marco's sleeve.

"Nachos!" Marco looked down, elated to see his old companion again. "Wait, you're staying here too?"

"Why not? Nachos _is_ my best friend." Seraph explained, then she chuckled as the dragon-cycle got up and started licking Marco's face.

Skullnick decided this was enough, "Okay, let's get going. This is really a family matter at this point."

The others agreed silently that it would be better to leave now, leaving Marco to deal with the dragon-cycle on his own.

Skullnick looked back at Marco as she left, letting out a long, tired huff, "I'm gonna have to do a lot of paperwork because of this, I just know it."

Slowly, the rest of the group walked through the front door. They all wanted to properly introduce themselves to Seraph and talk with Marco about everything, especially Jackie, but they knew that it could wait for another day. Not today, at the very least.

Marco had someone more important he needed to talk to right now.

0000

The group stepped out of the house and didn't share words, they quickly split ways to carry on with their own lives.

Jackie strapped her helmet on and paused looking back at the Diaz household. She was confused, hurt, conflicted and worried. She had a lot of questions and she knew she'd have to wait to get her answers.

As she got on her skateboard and skated away she left wondering where she stood in all this.

"Huh?" As she was about to turn down the sidewalk towards her own house, Janna noticed a certain wand-wielding girl walking out the door of the house behind her. She turned around in surprise. "Star? Where are you going? Don't you live here?"

With barely a response, Star just walked past Janna with a blank look on her face, almost completely oblivious to the world. Janna could faintly hear what sounded to be 'Marco' and 'Hekapoo' come from Star's mouth.

" _Okaaay_ , um, how 'bout I get you some donuts? You look like you need some Star."

Star absent-mindedly nodded as Janna, concerned for her friend, steered her in the correct direction of the donut-shop and away from the parked car she almost walked into.

Back at the house, Nachos had finally gotten off Marco and was now chasing the laser puppies in the backyard. Meanwhile, Marco and Seraph were sitting down at the couch.

"Hey Dad!" Seraph called him.

Marco took a moment before he realized she was referring to him. He wasn't sure he'd ever get used to being called that. "Yeah?"

Seraph's smile grew, delighted by the fact that she finally had a chance to talk to her father. "I've wanted to talk to you for so long! Mom told me so much about your adventures and the times you and Mom met together, but there's some things I _really_ want to know from you."

Marco blinked. "Oh, okay. So, what _do_ you want to know?"

"Well, what did you do when you met Mom? She told me you had to chase her clones _everywhere_ ," Seraph said, moving her arms out for emphasis.

"Oh, uh, I'm not sure if that would be interesting for you to hear. The first couple of days were kind of just me trying to find shelter and stuff, dealing with the rain and- _ugh_ -wet socks." Marco shuddered. Even though he had to bear with the feeling over the years, it still was something that he hated to feel. And Seraph seemed to share in his sentiment.

"Ugh, bleh! That does sound terrible! Don't you have any other stories to tell me?"

"Well, have you heard of the Swamp of Sadness or the Bog of Eternal Stench? Let me tell you, you wouldn't believe how useful onions can be..."

0000

A little while later, Angie arrived back home, bags full of food in her arms, when she stopped for a moment in the doorway. She saw Marco and Seraph talking, apparently discussing his adventures from when he was chasing Hekapoo across the dimensions.

"No, everything was on fire! Like, I mean, _everything_! Bless your mother-even though we were technically 'against' each other-she didn't hesitate to help me out. Mind you, I was in my twenties back then. I was bigger than her and everything, but she just picked me up like I was nothing and carried the both of us out of there. And the thing was, it was actually her, not a clone or anything. She saved me when the mountain came down on us. I would have preferred she didn't princess-carry me but I'm not complaining."

Seraph laughed at the mental image. "So, what happened to the Balrog?"

"Well, I'm getting to that. After making it out, we..."

As the pair kept talking, Angie smiled. She was afraid that those sixteen years would have changed her son permanently, keeping him from making connections and leaving him isolated from everyone, but she was overjoyed to see him being so open and talkative again.

Angie admitted to herself that she didn't know Seraph that well, but in her heart she couldn't believe that any child of her son could be a bad person. She still had some mixed feelings about Hekapoo for the sixteen years of her son's life that had gone by, but since Marco spoke so highly about her-and because Angie could sympathize with the pain the unexpected mother was going through-Angie was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

And as she took a closer look, Angie saw something in Seraph's eyes, something new and yearning for a family. Becoming a grandmother so soon and in such a manner still shook her to her core, but she felt that, maybe, this was a blessing in disguise and something for the whole Diaz family to celebrate. After all of this consideration, she walked past her son and granddaughter as discreetly as possible and started to prepare the kitchen.

Tonight, they all would share their first meal with the newest member of the family. All the while, Marco and Seraph continued to talk, the occasional laugh or two ringing out into the room, as Angie started chopping up her ingredients, Nachos still in the backyard with the puppies, and Rafael almost done preparing the room for the newest guest of the house.

It surely was going to be a good night at the Diaz household.

0000

Star was walking down a lonely street, the moon just starting to peek over the horizon as she nibbled on one of the donuts Janna had gotten her a few hours ago. It had helped a little, a welcome distraction from everything else going on in her life at the moment.

She knew Marco had been in Hekapoo's dimension for 16 years, but she never considered that Marco would've changed so much in that time, that things would actually change between them. And she especially didn't consider that he would've done _that_ , to actually have a _daughter!_

Now, she found it hard to think of anything else.

A turmoil of emotions raged inside of Star, but she couldn't tell what those emotions were. However, one of them, something down deep in her, stood out among the rest. It felt bitter and angry and _frustrated_ at the world, one that just filled her with an indescribable feeling. She hated the feeling and she hated that she felt them towards people that she knew didn't deserve it, but she just didn't know _why_.

She found herself at a door step of a house. The Diaz house. For a while now, this place had been her home, but now, she could barely recognize it even though it looked as it always did.

One feeling that was in the forefront of her mind was that of fear. She was afraid that she wouldn't belong there anymore.

Did she still have a place with Marco? Did she still have a place in his house? Did she still have a place on Earth?

Star was scared, but she wouldn't let her fear hold her back. Finishing her donut and turning the doorknob, she pushed open the door and walked in with a smile on her face and was greeted with the sound of people talking and the smell of delicious food.

 _It still feels like home_ , she thought.

She followed the smell and sound towards the dinner table, where she found all of the Diazes sitting and talking together. _Including that 'Sarah_ ,' she noticed absently, her smile slipping a little.

The table quieted down when they noticed her. "Star, where have you been?" Marco called out to her. "The food's starting to get cold and we didn't want to start eating without you."

Star hesitated a bit, unsure of where to sit now that there was an extra person at the table, especially since said person was sitting where _she_ usually sat. That detail bothered her almost as much as the fact that they barely even noticed that she left the house. But she wasn't given much time to ruminate on those thoughts.

"Come on Star!" Marco waved her over. "We've all been getting to know Seraph while we were waiting for you, and Seraph really wants to meet you."

"I've never met a real princess in person before!" Seraph said, her eyes full of excitement. She pointed to the empty chair next to her. "Why don't you sit next to me?"

"Yeah, okay...I guess I can sit next to you." Star still felt unsure about how to feel about the situation, but she didn't want to be rude in front of a guest, especially Marco's _daughter_ -she was still in the middle processing the fact.

As Star sat down next to her, Seraph turned to the princess with an eager smile. "You're the princess of Mewni, right? Your mom and my mom work together on that commission thing. Did you know that?"

Star smiled back, though a bit more awkwardly, and nodded hesitantly. "...Yeeeah, I...I did."

"So, you're my dad's best friend? Like, how did you meet my dad?"

Now this was something Star knew how to answer. "Okay, well, so, the story starts with me at Mewni on my fourteenth birthday, when I received my family's prized heirloom; the royal magic wand!" Star brandished said wand in front of her with a proud expression on her face, though it quickly turned sheepish.

"...And then I accidentally set the whole kingdom on fire. After the fires got put out, my parents sent me here to Earth to study my magic. It was so strange and bizarre, and I loved all of it! Lightbulbs, boy bands, fortune cookies, indoor plumbing, Earth is a great place! But most important of all, the first friend I made here on Earth was Marco. And together, we made a pretty great team, especially when Ludo came and we. Kicked. Their. Butts!"

Seraph was awestruck, Star could tell, from the amazed look on her face. "Tell me more, tell me more!" Seraph said, bouncing in her seat.

Star turned her head and smiled at Marco. "Well, the first thing you need to know about your dad is that there is no one better at keeping you safe with _kah-rah-te_ ," Star said, mock-chopping the air in front of her, "If you ever need help with school work or fighting monsters, he's always there to lend a hand. He also makes great nachos! Have you tried them yet?" Star practically jumped out of her seat, her face leaning into Seraph's for a moment, but then she backed up as the girl stared at her with wide eyes.

"No, not yet, but is that why he named his dragon cycle Nachos?"

At this, Marco looked away rubbing the back of his head, a faint but clear blush on his cheeks. "Uh...I thought it was a good name?"

"Oh, _right_ , you named your dragon-cycle Nachos." Star sat down, stifling a laugh as the fact came back to her. "Oh you are such a dork!" She playfully batted at Marco, who too began to laugh at the situation as the senior Diazes started to pass around the food, dinner finally starting for the family.

To be honest with herself, Star found it hard to truly dislike the girl. Sure, she still didn't know how to feel about the whole situation, but she would try her best to put those feelings aside. After all, if _she_ was part of Marco's family, than she was part of Star's family too.

Besides, it wasn't like anything could really come between her and Marco, right?

0000

The moon shined brightly as the night set in. In a sparsely decorated room, Seraph nuzzled a small stuffed dragon as she slept in her new bed. Being only a month old, she didn't have a lot of things, only a small bag full of essentials and trinkets, but her stuffed dragon was her oldest and most prized possession. It was the very first gift her mother gave her, and she simply could not sleep without it.

At the foot of her bed slept Nachos, and a few laser puppies were bunched up around Seraph, having decided she made a good bed. All in all, it was a moment begging for a picture to be taken.

Marco peeked at this scene of serenity from a crack in the door. Making sure that she was well asleep, he quietly closed the door and headed to his room. Passing his bed, Marco opened the window and climbed out onto the roof. There, he sat down and stared up at the stars, his arms resting on his knees.

A swirl of light and sound formed behind him, and he didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Hey there," Hekapoo said as she stepped out of the portal.

"Hey H-Poo." Marco smirked.

She gave him a tired groan. "Don't call me that." Shaking her head, she sat down next to him, her dress billowing out under her.

"You know, Seraph just went to bed. I'm sure she wouldn't mind getting up if you-"

"No," Hekapoo stopped him, "It's better if she gets her sleep, you know-a growing child and everything." She then tilted her head down, casting her face into shadow. "Besides, it would just make things harder."

Marco looked away for a second, unsure of what to say, but then his voice returned to him. "I'm sorry."

Hekapoo turned towards him, eyebrow raised. "For what?"

"For not being there when you gave birth. It must have been scary to go through it alone."

"Well, it wasn't exactly pleasant, but it's not your fault. You didn't know, I didn't know what was going on at the time, and when I did, I wasn't exactly able to tell you, being in the hospital and all that. Life's just like that."

"I know, it...it just sucks and everything, and I didn't even know until today about Seraph and-" Marco sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "It's just that...I just think that it would have been nice to...you know, hold my first kid when they were born."

Hekapoo gave him a wry smile. "You're a lot more sentimental than I thought."

"Shut up." Marco rolled his eyes as he pouted.

"Oh, sorry, did I hit a nerve?" She chuckled. "Well, I _do_ have something for you." With a flick of her wrist, a small flame whirled into existence over her palm. It vanished as she closed her hand around it, which she then extended towards Marco. "It's a copy for you, a little something I had one of the nurses take."

Marco took the object from her and saw it was a picture. Hekapoo was lying in a bed, clearly exhausted but with a smile on her face as she held a small baby in her arms. _Their_ baby. Even though she didn't have horns yet, Marco would recognize those eyes anywhere.

"It's not the same as being there, but-"

"Thank you." Marco held the picture close. It was more than anything he had hoped to get.

"Yeah, I came here to say that to you." Hekapoo sighed. "You know, thanks for doing this. I know it's gotta be weird for you and all, but-"

"Don't worry about it. She's my kid and I want to get to spend some time with her." Marco smiled, his face somehow seeming both old and young at the same time. "At least it's better than nothing. Besides, I've gotten used to the weird."

Hekapoo laughed at that. "That's true, but if you need anything, just let me know. Like, anything. It's not like I'm broke or anything."

"Don't worry. I think we're fine for the moment, but I'll keep the offer in mind. But please, just make sure you visit often. Seraph should get to see you too. She should be able to spend time with _both_ of her parents."

"If you say so. You don't have to worry about that, you know you won't be able to keep me away," Hekapoo said with a wink.

"Well, that would be a nice change in our relationship." Marco laughed as Hekapoo playfully batted his arm, then the two got closer as the nightly chills started to set in.

They sat together, Marco's head on Hekapoo's shoulder, underneath the stars in silence. Marco still felt exhausted from the emotional whirlwind he had gone through today, but here, in the bright light of the full moon, he felt content, and so did Hekapoo.

However, every moment had its end.

Eventually, they parted ways, Hekapoo returning to her dimension as Marco headed back inside the house. As he settled into bed, he placed the picture on his nightstand and sleep finally overtook him, a small smile on his face as he slept. For the first time since he arrived back on Earth, he felt like he truly belonged there, like he finally got back home.

All the while, a princess was lying on her bed, still wide awake. Her hair was splayed around her as the night breeze drifted in through the window of her tower, a window right above the area where a newly-discovered father and mother just were a short while ago.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So, Chapter 2 is up and what did you all think? Introducing Seraph the child of Hekapoo and Marco. Honestly, I don't even remember where I got the name from. I had it in place when I learned it meant 'Burning One' and then I heard someone broke down Hekapoo and it means 'Hundred Flames' and I just liked that reflection it had and went with it. Anywho, Marco kinda got hit by a truck full of fatherhood, Hekapoo's story is kinda a tragedy at the moment, Star is a glass case of emotions, Marco's parents … are Marco's parents. A new status quo is set up and now let's see how people deal with this. Also, I'm thinking of getting a cover for this story commission so let me know if you have any ideas for cover.**

* * *

 **Editor's Notes: This was a pretty fun chapter to work on, I have to say, though you guys wouldn't believe how much had been added to or changed around from the first draft. Now, I hope that you'll all enjoy what we've got here, and kudos to anyone who notices the two references I snuck into here.**


	3. Chapter 3: Retail Therapy

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

 **Special Thanks to my beta IdeaGenerator**

* * *

Chapter 03: Retail Therapy

Marco opened his eyes to find his arms wrapped around Hekapoo. It was a rather pleasant-though not entirely unexpected-way to wake up. He slowly unwrapped his arms from Hekapoo, careful to not wake her up. As he sat up next to her, he reflected upon how he'd ended up here like this with Hekapoo.

His trial had been going on for several years now, and despite the purpose of the trial being to keep him from getting close to her, Hekapoo would sometimes come right to him.

In the very beginning, all those many years ago, she would offer to make him a portal to take him back home from time to time, and every time, he refused. How could he not? How could he even begin to trust that it would really lead him back home, that he wasn't simply being set for disappointment? Back then, he never wanted to give into her temptations until his mission was complete, not until he had a pair of scissors whose user he could actually trust to take him home. Eventually, after seeing enough the clear determination in his eyes to blow out her flame and finish their chase, she stopped making her offer to him.

Afterwards, her taunts and her words had started to slow down. At some point, she'd just keep popping up, quietly like a specter, at the edges of his vision, always out of his reach but not his sight. She never spoke a word when she did appear. He never was sure just _why_ she kept doing it, but he had his suspicions that she was just making sure whether or not he was still alive, as she most frequently appeared right after he had just narrowly avoided certain death for the umpteenth time.

Marco was sure she had her ways to keep track of him either way, but he appreciated that she personally came to check up on him from time to time. Sometimes, she even brought a few supplies like tools and medicines for him when he had run out of things to survive off of, or when he was teetering on the brink of death. She never did give him any more than necessary, and she often just dropped them off without a word, but he stopped looking the gift-horse in the mouth after the sixth-seventh?-time they saved his life.

From what Marco could guess, Hekapoo didn't want him to just drop dead on her. At first, he would have prefered not to take the items, but he was not stupid enough to believe that they wouldn't come into handy. He was still inexperienced and unskilled in the art of surviving in the wild, and without them he might have died. For that, he was grateful for the help.

Eventually, Hekapoo started calling these kind of events ' _timeouts_.' The rules were fairly simple; he was not to try and blow out her flame, and in turn, things would be a bit easier for him during these breaks. She made sure to state when these events started and stopped right off the bat, as she claimed she didn't trust Marco to figure it out on his own if she didn't spell it out for him.

After the first couple of times he had been caught unprepared for these _timeouts_ and mistakenly tried to fight her off when she appeared _,_ Hekapoo warned Marco that she'd signal him with a signal flare in the air before she'd appear to him.

As Marco slowly adapted to his new environment, these breaks started to occur less and less frequently, to the point where he thought that they were over. As a result, it came as a surprise to him when one of her bright flares flew out from over the horizon one day. This was especially unusual since he wasn't even in danger of dying and wasn't in need of anything when she signaled to him.

When she approached him, he knew that this _timeout_ would be quite different than the ones before. She had come to talk, to ask him a question. No games, no tricks, no supplies, thatwas all she had come for this time.

Most people would have given up a long, long time ago if they were in the same position Marco was in now. Few people would have kept going half as long as he had, and even fewer would have resisted her offer of throwing in the towel and returning home in an instant, especially with how often the temptation came in the beginning. Yet here Marco was, still going as strong and as-or even more-determined to finally chase her down and earn his scissors.

It was something that had puzzled her, something that had bothered her, and she wanted to know _why_ it was that he kept going, _why_ he would not stop. He had given her the same repetitive answer as he had always given, that it was for his friend, Star Butterfly. She just stared at him after that, like she was scrutinizing every detail of him. Then, she left without a word, just like that.

Though it was a short conversation, if one could even call it that, Marco had enjoyed that moment. It was a nice-if unexpected-change from the near-fruitless task of tracking down Hekapoo's clones and the monotony of going weeks without anyone to really talk to besides his own thoughts. And that was just the beginning of the shift in their dynamics.

After that mysterious _timeout_ , things had started to change, as every so often, a Hekapoo clone would arrive to ask him a new question. One question turned into two, then four, then entire conversations on all sorts of things, most often about each other. These conversations would be far apart and few in between, but Marco enjoyed these fleeting moments. They made the trial just a bit more bearable, and he started to enjoy her company and her companionship. Over the years and through their chats, Marco had learnt more about her, and her about him.

However, one day, during one of their _timeouts_ , he suddenly realized that the Hekapoo he had been talking to was the real deal, _not_ a clone. He didn't know exactly when she had started doing it or how he could tell in the first place, but it was something that both surprised and comforted him, the thought that Hekapoo, the _real_ one, would come in person just to talk with him.

Soon, things began to change even more between them. Sometimes, she'd bring snacks and a blanket, and they would share a small picnic. Sometimes, she'd drag him around to random places, telling him to help her with something. And sometimes, she'd just hang around him, claiming to be bored and needing to rest her legs for a bit, though Marco could tell that she didn't really believe that excuse either.

Over the past few years, they had gotten closer and found out so much about each other in a way that neither of them could have expected. Those years were an experience they both treasured, and they were glad they were able to share it with each other.

Marco was rather proud he had gotten to know Hekapoo so well. He enjoyed the time they spent together, even when it was being spent chasing her across treacherous landscapes. However, he especially appreciated the rare times when he managed to wake up before she did, as most often, he'd awake to find that she had gone while he slept and that their _timeout_ was over.

From these times, he was rather delighted to find out that she made such a cute face whenever she slept and used his shoulder as a pillow. It certainly was something he liked to tease her with whenever their little game restarted, just like his nickname for her.

And now, it appeared to be another one of these rare occasions.

Hekapoo had such a peaceful face that it made Marco feel at ease as well. His hand moved to brush her face free of the stray strands caressing it when her eyes started to flutter. Stretching her arms, she sat up and yawned, the soft noise filling Marco with adoration. It was like hearing a kitten mew, only sweeter, though he tried not to let the emotion show on his face.

"So, you have a good nap?" Marco asked with a sly smirk as Hekapoo turned to look at him.

' _Marco.'_

"Yes?"

' _Marco!'_

Marco just raised an eyebrow, a bit puzzled but smiling all the same. "Yeah, that's me."

' _Time to wake up sweetie!'_

"What? What do you mean?" That was all Marco could get out, his brow furrowing in confusion, before the world around him started to fade into a blank void.

0000

"H…poo?" Marco rubbed his eyes. He opened them to find himself in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, alone. He blinked twice, trying to remember where he was, then his memories caught up with him.

Right. This was his old bed, his old room. He was back on Earth.

"Marco? Are you awake?" His mom peeked her head through his door. "Breakfast's getting cold."

"Oh. Right. I'll be down in a minute." Marco said, sitting up in his bed.

"Okay, see you soon sweetie," Angie said with a smile while she backed out of the doorway and out of Marco's sight.

Marco tried to shake his head clear of the fleeting images of his dream-a _memory_ -as his mom walked back downstairs, but they refused to go away. He rubbed his eyes and slipped the picture Hekapoo gave him into a drawer, getting up and starting to get dressed for the day.

He was sure today was going to be a memorable day.

0000

Downstairs, Marco found himself at the dinner table, eating the waffles his mother had prepared. He was told he used to have better manners, but after spending years scrounging for food and learning not to be picky with your next meal, it wasn't a big surprise that Marco simply gobbled up every bite of his mother's lovingly-prepared food.

This was actually one change in Marco that Angie _did_ like. What mother _wouldn't_ find delight in their children enjoying their food so much? It was at this point that Marco, having scarfed down enough waffles, swallowed and asked a question that he had wanted to ask since he got downstairs.

"Hey mom, where's Seraph? Or Star?"

"You shouldn't sleep in so late mijo," his father told him, striding into the room with another one of his smaller art pieces and hands covered in dust. "Star said she was going to take Seraph to go shopping."

"She wanted to get Seraph a few things to make her room feel more like home." Angie continued. "It was so nice of her to volunteer for-

Suddenly, the doorbell went off, cutting off what she was about to say. "Oh, I'll get it!" she said.

As Angie went to answer it, Rafael set down his sculpture and went to wash his hands in the sink, an unsurprised expression on his face. "It seems like he's here."

Marco only quirked an eyebrow. "Who's here?"

A moment later, Angie walked in with someone, someone who had a face Marco had almost forgotten about, one he wasn't quite sure he wanted to see at the moment.

"Mr. Candle?!"

"Hello, Marco," the counselor greeted, nodding his head at the acknowledgement.

"Oh good, you remember him." Rafael patted the man on the back. "We've arranged for Mr. Candle here to come and talk with you.

"Your friend Tom gave us his number," Angie explained. "We thought that maybe you should have someone who can help you, who you can talk to, after everything you've been through."

"A _counselor_?" Marco asked incredulously. "I-I don't need a counselor. I'm fine!" He then looked at Mr. Candle skeptically. "And I thought that was just a cover job to spy on me and Star for Tom."

"Yes Marco, I _am_ a fully qualified and licensed counselor. And I'm here to help you with some of your problems and questions." Mr. Candle clicked his pen. "Heard something _big_ happened yesterday. Want to talk about it?"

"Whoops, looks like we've got some errands to run right now. Why don't you two sit yourselves down and get comfortable?" Marco's dad said, already on his way out the door with his wife. "We'll be back soon. See you later son!"

As the door closed behind them, half-garbled words of protest tumbled out of Marco's mouth. Then, slowly and hesitantly, he turned towards the other person in the room.

Mr. Candle just smiled at him. "Do you want to talk here or in the living room?"

0000

In another plane of reality, space tore apart as a swirling blue portal formed in midair. A moment later, Star stepped out, followed by Pony Head and Seraph.

Seraph looked all around her, taking in the sights of all the merchandise on the endless amount of shelves surrounding them. A look of amazement and curiosity sat upon her face.

Pony Head easily noticed her expression. It was hard to when her jaw looked like it was about to fall off. "So, is this, like, your first time at Quest Buy?"

"Yeah," Seraph admitted, blinking the stars out of her eyes, "I haven't been able to go to any other dimension besides my mom's and Earth-and I guess that dimension with that hospital I was born in too. I wasn't really old enough enough to go yet."

Star vaguely recalled what Marco had told her the night before. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You're actually a month old but you age fast in another dimen...sion…." Star went pale, her eyes wide. "OH, OH NO! You're not going to start aging really fast outside of Earth, are you? Pony Head, open a portal back, quick!"

"No, no, that only happens in my mom's place," Seraph said, her smile drooping a bit. "But you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine here."

"Ah, phew, just making sure." Star wiped her brow, relieved that she wouldn't have to take her home and explain to Marco why the newest addition to his family was physically 50 years older than the last time they saw each other.

"Right, sure." Pony Head continued. " My girl B-fly tells me you don't have much in your room, so we're going to change that! Today you have two princesses treating you! Anything you need, it's all on us!"

"Really?" Seraph asked.

"Yeah!" Star put an arm around her. "Consider it a late birthday present-ah, an early first birthday present. Now let's get you some new stuff!"

Pony Head floated to Seraph's other side and the three of them walked into the labyrinthian maze that was Quest Buy.

0000

Marco was laying down on the couch in his living room, Mr. Candle sitting in a chair next to him. It was almost a perfect picture of a psychiatrist's session. Well, that is, if the patient lying down was busy reading a tablet with parenting books downloaded onto it and trying their best to ignore the counselor next to them.

"So Marco, when would you like to begin our talk?"

Marco glanced a bit at Mr. Candle, but returned his eyes to his tablet, not making a move to put it away and begin talking. Mr. Candle sighed at this.

"Marco, you can trust me. Your parents wanted me to come over and simply talk, and that's all we will do today." He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. "So, must have been quite a shock finding out about your daughter, wasn't it?"

Marco huffed. "And now you're trying to get a reaction out of me to get me to talk."

Mr. Candle shrugged with a smirk on his face. "Guilty as charged. Looks like someone's studied their psychology." He shuffled his papers then pulled out what appeared to be a grade report. "So, I heard you were having some trouble in school recently."

Marco bit his tongue. "I've…just been having a bit of a rough spot with my studies, but I'm getting better."

Honestly, Marco was lying a bit there. Besides having a hard time focusing in classes now, he was having a hard time remembering everything that he had learned in school from what felt was a long time ago. He _was_ starting to remember the information somewhat, but he had to review and study entire chapters of notes just to catch back up. Even then, it was still a bit of a struggle for him. He didn't want to worry his friends and family about it, as he _knew_ he could do it on his own, just like he had back in Hekapoo's dimension. He just wanted everything to go back to normal, to how things were before.

But then again, what _was_ normal for him anymore?

Some of his feelings must have shown on his face, as Mr. Candle simply raised an eyebrow. "You know, there's no shame in admitting you need a little help. You've been through a lot, it's no surprise if you were shaken up by the experience."

Marco scoffed at that, a frown on his face. "I don't need help."

"Marco, all I want to do is to talk and help you deal with everything and anything that may be bothering you. I just want to be able to tell your parents how you're doing."

"What do you mean? I'm fine, I'm doing _great_."

"Well, you may think so, but your friends and family don't. They're worried sick, worried enough to call ask for a counselor for you. Now what does that tell you?"

"It doesn't tell me how to get you to leave." Marco shot back.

Mr. Candle just pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Okay, how about we make a deal? You just talk to me for a while and whatever I think, I will tell your parents that you're okay. If you want to call it quits, we can call it a day and I'll never come back. Either way, I won't tell anyone anything you say, not even Tom. Patient confidentiality and all that."

Marco stared at the man for a long hard moment, then eventually relented.

"Okay, I'll take you up on that."

"Super! Now, let's start with the big important stuff." He leaned in towards Marco. "What and how much of those sixteen years do you remember the best? I mean, I can't say I have any personal experience with time shifts, and, as far as I know, no human other than you does. So, how about you help me paint a picture of what it's like?"

Marco was quiet for a moment.

"...Well, lately, some memories have been getting a bit...fuzzy. It's not like I'm forgetting everything or anything, it's...more like not being able remember all the details of your fifth birthday and all you have is a vague impression of having been there and what happened."

Clicking his pen and running it across the surface of his notepad, Mr. Candle nodded. "Okay, okay, that's a good start. But what exactly do you mean by 'things have been getting fuzzy?"

"For me, it's as though some early memories are just blurring into each other. The incredible adventures I've had, the beautiful lands I crossed, I can still remember a lot of them. But all of that really came after the years I spent just trying to figure out how to survive out in the wild on my own."

Marco chuckled, but it sounded tired and weary, almost at odds with his young appearance. "Back then, I could barely even track my way out of a paper bag, let alone begin to start hunting down any of Hekapoo's clones. Those days and nights were full of nothing but me trying to find my way in a multiverse I barely knew at the time, doing the same routine over and over again. Try to get food, build a shelter out of anything I can, and check to see if I was on Hekapoo's trail. After all that time, all those years, they just blended together." He laid still for a second, staring at the ceiling as if searching for something.

"I don't know when I stopped thinking about those years, but now, back on Earth, I can barely bring them back, not even when I try to. All I remember is that it was tough, and that I had made a routine to keep me going. A good deal of my memory, before I started being the adventurer I am-I mean, I was-is like that. But some days...Some days I know I won't _ever_ forget."

"That's fair, some days can be pretty memorable and hard to forget. But, out of the days you do still remember clearly, how many of those days would you describe as 'good?"

A slow smile stretched across Marco's face, a pleasant one this time. "Well, most of them really."

0000

All was calm in the aisles of Quest Buy. Shoppers were shopping, cash registers were registering, and Pony Head and Star were dodging and firing energy blasts at what was chasing them. Finally, both of them turned a corner and jumped behind some of the shelves to avoid the blasts.

Pony Head yelled over the commotion. "Who the heck leaves Slaughter-nauts and Murder Golems on in a store?! I get you sell them! You sell everything! But don't leave them on! I don't care how many we bust up, I am _not_ paying for them!"

Meanwhile, Star took a deep breath and readied herself. She jumped back into the open aisle, wand ready and glowing. "NARWH-" Star paused in the middle of her spell to duck.

A stone head with a newly formed and still glowing dent the shape of a fist went flying over her head. Star got up to see Seraph, standing at the end of the aisle with her outstretched fist engulfed in flames.

"Ugh, that's annoying," she said with a slight frown as she lightly shook her hand, the flames curling around her fingers dying down.

Both Star and Pony Head looked into the aisle, where all that remained of the weaponized automatons were their burnt, scourged, and melted remains. Both princesses stared in utter surprise.

On their own, those things would have been no match for either Star and Pony Head, but the large group that had been chasing after them gave even their combined penchant for destruction some trouble.

Pony Head finally spoke to Star, unable to look away at the sheer destruction in front of her. "I know Marco is all about the hand fighting and junk, but that _has_ to got to be from Hekapoo."

Star could only nod slowly.

"Man, that was amazing!" Seraph jumped up in delight. "Are there any more of those things? I want to do that again!"

"Yeah, but she definitely got that from Marco." Star smirked, reminded of the reaction Marco had the night they first met, right after his first monster fight.

"No, no, uh, it looks like they're fresh out." Pony Head pushed Seraph along with her muzzle, away from the scene of automaton carnage. "Plus, I don't want to be around when they start asking who's going to pay up."

Quickly, they hurried away from the mess before any employees showed up. After checking for any sloths in the vicinity, Star gave a sigh of relief. "Looks like we're all clear." She chuckled and turned to Seraph. "Good thing your mom's a fire elemental, or we might have gotten in some trouble back there."

"Huh?" Seraph just looked at Star in confusion.

"Yeah, you know, fire powers? Your mom?"

Seraph furrowed her brow. "My mom's not a fire elemental."

At this, Star got confused as well. "Well, isn't she on-"

"Hey, you three." The trio looked up to see a sloth guy waving at them. "Like, do you know who caused that mess back there? Someone's going to have to pay for it."

"...Uhhhh…"

0000

"Being there was actually pretty great. I had a goal pushing me forwards, and every day I would do or learn something new and exciting," Marco explained to Mr. Candle as best he could. "Wherever I would go, I would try to help whenever I could, and every day brought me one step closer to catching Hekapoo."

Mr. Candle took note of it. "Having a clear purpose to drive you every day must have been great, I presume."

"I guess it was."

"Yes, but was there more to it? Was there any other reason you liked being there?"

"I-I don't know, a purpose is one thing but you can always find a purpose. You can find your purpose anywhere. You _make_ your purpose."

"So then, it was the adventure that drove you?"

"Well, uh, no. I had plenty of adventures back here with Star."

"Hm…" Mr. Candle flipped through his papers, a questioning look on his face. "Yes, yes, about Star Butterfly…She mentioned a little something about when she caught up with you. How you almost _didn't_ want to come back. That you, quote unquote, 'liked going on adventures whenever you wanted,' that 'it was the journey." He leaned back in his chair and looked Marco on the eye. "You did come back to Earth in the end, but, if I may ask, what exactly was it that made you hesitate?"

"Uh…" Marco tried to concentrate and think. "I...I don't know. Maybe I _did_ want something more. I loved the freedom and the adventures and the life I had made for myself in Hekapoo's dimension, but it wasn't like I didn't want to see my family and friends again. It's just…"

He found it hard to describe.

"I lived that life for so long, being in charge of my entire life and able to go and experience everything the multiverse had to offer whenever I wanted and however I wanted. It was just so _hard_ to imagine me living any other life than the one I had made for myself." All he could do was sigh at this. "It still is."

Mr. Candle tapped his chin in thought. "Then what keeps you here then, if you feel that way so much?"

"I guess it's that...If I did leave, then I'm afraid I might not want to come back. I might _never_ come back. That I might never see any of them again."

"Really? And what about now?"

Marco didn't have an answer to that.

0000

After that incident, the girls had gotten a shopping cart and were throwing in anything that drew Seraph's attention.

Right now, they had stopped at the snack section, which had snacks from all over the multiverse spread across infinitely long aisles. Just about anyone would be daunted by such a choice.

"Okay, for this, just go with your favorites or something." Pony Head started to poke around for treats for herself. "Oh heck yeah! Look at this B-fly! It's Chee-Z Chaaaaps!"

Star bit her lip in thought. "I think I'm going to try something new. I'm in the mood for something sugary and sweet." Star picked a few colorful bags of candy and placed them in the cart. "Anything looks good to you, Sarah?"

"I don't know," Seraph said, "I can't decide. There's too many!"

"Hmm." Star tapped her chin. "Okay, what flavors do you like?"

"I like savory stuff," Seraph said, poking a bag with her finger. It was full of something squishy and green, but it didn't look appetizing to her. "Maybe something a little spicy as well. Mom likes spicy stuff and I sorta picked up on that."

"Savory and spicy," Star noted. "Yeah, Marco likes that too." Star scanned over the snacks and spotted the aisle for them. "Okay, let's get a lot of that stuff so you can try them out."

"Oh what the heck, let's just get just a bunch of everything to try it out." Pony Head started shoving entire shelves of snacks into the cart, creating a small mountain of deliciousness.

Star and Seraph just looked at each other and shrugged, starting to grab armfuls of snacks as well.

0000

It had been a few minutes since Mr. Candle asked his question. He had waited for a reply, but with little progress to show for so far, he decided to try and poke directly for one instead. "So Marco, do you have an answer?"

"I don't know," Marco admitted.

"You don't know?"

"I...don't know. I just don't know. It just felt _right,_ being there."

"But you came back. Why? Was it your friends and family?"

"My family and my friends...Well, I _did_ miss them back then, but I hadn't seen them for so long that I guess I just sort of...moved on, you know?" Marco bit his lip.

"Though I still missed them deep down, I just...started thinking of them less and less as time went on. I had made a life for myself, traveling the multiverse, tracking down Hekapoo, having amazing adventures. It was great, but Star helped to remind me of them, to remind me that I had missed them. I think that _that_ was what convinced me to come back. But now, after coming back, it's like I don't belong here anymore."

Marco was silent for a while, a frown on his face. "I've been trying to go back to what my life used to be like, but it's just so _difficult_. I can't remember how to be 'myself' half of the time, my friends and family look at me like I'm a complete stranger at times, and sometimes-" Marco stopped talking, his frustration causing his breaths to become ragged.

Mr. Candle waited for his breathing to ease up for a moment, then spoke. "And sometimes what?"

As the beating of his heart went back down, Marco took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "...Sometimes, I think about leaving a few days after I came back, about running off and exploring the multiverse. Just going off on my own and not telling anyone, not Star or my parents. But, I can't let myself go. I want to catch up with everyone, and I don't want to forget them again. I saw how worried Star was and how my parents reacted to me after I came back, and I don't want to worry them even more. It just doesn't feel right to leave anyone again."

"So, what about Hekapoo?"

"What?" Marco stared at him.

Mr. Candle just smiled back, an odd sparkle in his eye. "What _is_ she to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I may just be grasping at straws here, but you _did_ tell me that you rather enjoyed that 16 year-long chase of yours, so clearly she had some influence on your actions, even in a passive way. And, despite how she brought you to her dimension away from Earth, the 'game of chase' you two had, and how, according to a Miss Star Butterfly, you didn't know about the time dilation until the very end, the two of you clearly got and stayed on close terms by the end of things, especially considering you now have your daughter living with you. So," Mr. Candle said, looking him directly in the eye, "let me ask you; what is Hekapoo to you?"

Marco stared at him, unsure of what to say to that.

"Look Marco, I'm not going to pry into any personal details or make you talk about anything that will make you uncomfortable," Mr. Candle started off. "I just would like to know what you think of her."

"Well, what _can_ I say about her? Yeah, she's special to me. We used to be like rivals, but over time she had become someone I could trust, someone I could always depend on. A close friend."

"And then, at some point, the two of you got…Ahem, excuse me, more 'intimate."

Marco looked aside and rubbed the back of his neck, a faint blush in his cheeks. "Yeah, we kind of did."

"And you two had a child together. Now, that brings me to my next question. According to what I've been told, you only found out you had a daughter yesterday. I'd imagine that such a thing must have come as a big shock to you, so," Mr. Candle paused, letting his words sink in, "I want to ask, how do you feel about the whole thing?"

0000

After wandering off for a bit, Seraph found herself standing before a rack of weapons. The metalworks shone in the display in front of her, an allure of action and danger emanating from them. Her eyes looked around the selection of weapons before they fell onto a long sword, one that looked quite enticing to her with its sharp blade and ornamental decorations.

"Oooh." Transfixed, Seraph started reaching for the leather-bound grip, almost as if she was spellbound by the sword. Absentmindedly, she wondered where she left Star behind and what Star would think of such an awesome blade.

Meanwhile, several aisles over, Star was checking out a set of lava lamps, similarly transfixed by the colorful blobs bouncing around inside them. "Hey, what do you think of these lamps Sharon?" After hearing no response, she called out again, unmoving from her position in front of the lamps. "Sharon? Come look! They're changing color again!"

Again, no response came. Star's head shot up, the lamps now at the back of her mind. "Sharon?" _Turn._ "Sierra?" _Another turn._ "Serah?"

Her eyes turned to pinpricks, a ball of horror settling in her gut.

"...oh no."

Back at the weapon rack, Seraph had picked the sword from its stand and was now swishing it around, bashing and cutting imaginary enemies. "Shiiiiing! Shiiiiing!" she said out loud with each swing. She then narrowed her eyes and took what she hoped looked like a stance of pure awesomeness. "You think you can beat me? Hah! Well, why don't you take a load of _this!"_

And with that, she swung her sword as hard as she could in front of her, the sound of the metal blade cutting through the air like music to her ears. However, she had forgotten one key step in achieving maximum coolness; holding on tight enough. And right at that moment, a very worried princess ran out around the corner of an aisle into the open.

"-raph! Where are you SeraAAHHH!"

 _THUNK_

Seraph looked on in horror with her hands over her mouth at the sword sticking out of the wall, directly above the golden locks of a familiar face she almost just cut off.

A few blonde strands of hair fell to the ground as Star's eyes slowly turned from the sword that almost beheaded her to the girl who had just thrown it. Her face was a rumbling mixture of emotions; fear, horror, panic, and now, most notably, something that started to look more and more like _fury_.

"OhmygoshImsosorryImsosorryImsosorry-" Seraph said quickly, trying to excuse herself, "-IdontknowwhathappenedIwasjustplayingarounditlookedsoniceandcooland-"

"You're not getting that sword." The voice stopped Seraph's explanation in its tracks and sent a shiver down her spine. "I've been looking all over Quest Buy for you! Where the heck have you been?!"

"...I-I-I just...I was just was walking around and saw that stand of cool weapons and thought you might like them and stuf-"

"Like them. _Like them?!_ You almost cut my body off with a sword! What the heck were you thinking?!"

Seraph stepped back, a flinch coursing through her body. Her bottom lip started to tremble, and she started to curl down into herself.

Star didn't know why Seraph reacted like that at first, but then she felt her face and looked at the girl more closely. A scowl was contorted into place as her heartbeat was thumping in her ears, and the girl in front of her had an expression of fear, of terror. She was afraid.

Of _her_.

"I-I-It was just an accident, I didn't mean to," Seraph meekly stated, and Star felt guilt balling up in her gut when tears started to form in the girl's eyes. She didn't mean to make her cry!

"It's okay it's okay!" Star took hold of Seraph's hands and tried to put on a smile. "I'm sorry, I just...don't know what came over me there." Seraph sniffled a little, and Star tried to think of what to say to her. "I was just so worried I wouldn't find you again! You can't just wander off and mess around with weapons like that! Someone could've gotten hurt!"

Seraph just looked at Star with guilt-ridden eyes in silence. "...Look, please just…just…" Star inhaled deeply and gave a long sigh. "...Just don't run off like that again, okay? Who knows what could've happened if I didn't find you."

As Seraph slowly nodded and began to wipe her eyes, Star spotted an ice cream stand in the distance. Maybe that could cheer Seraph up!

"How about I get you some ice cream, 'kay?"

 _Sniff_. "...okay."

0000

"Well, I think-actually, no, I _know_ Seraph is a miracle. Even though I don't know how she could have been born in the first place, I don't really care about that. She deserves to have her father in her life, and I want to make sure that happens, though I am a little upset about some things." Marco looked aside for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I mean, don't get me wrong, but...I would have loved to have held her when she was a baby, to see her take her first steps, to hear her first words...You know what I mean?"

"Of course! It's understandable that you'd feel that way. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you, but if it is any solace, I am certain that you would make a _great_ father."

Marco laid down into the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Those words from Mr. Candle made him feel better, more reassured in the future. He wasn't completely sure why, but Marco felt as though a large weight had been removed from his shoulders, and the corner of his mouth curled in agreement with him.

Mr. Candle looked at him, his pen tapping his chin in thought, before he continued. "You know what, let's double back for a bit. I want to ask you again; what do you think of Hekapoo?"

"What more is there to say?"

"Well, you two seem to have quite a unique relationship from what I can tell, so what I want you to do is try and describe it to me so that I can try to understand."

Marco thought about it for a moment. "I don't...I don't really know how to describe it."

"Are you afraid of losing that relationship?"

"What?! No!" Marco immediately answered, resolute in his conviction. "That would never happen! Hekapoo values our relationship like I do, and I know she wouldn't do anything to break it."

"You certainly seem to have a lot of faith in her."

"Of course I do."

"Did it make it easier to leave when she said you could come back at any time?"

"Yeah-I mean, I guess it helps to know I can go back to visit her anytime I want."

"Hm." Mr. Candle simply smiled at him.

"Okay, seriously, what's with the smile?"

0000

The trio of girls had been wandering Quest Buy for a while now. The maps there were never of any use in telling where you were or where the department you wanted was, but finally, after an hour or so, they had stumbled onto the prime motherload of all departments.

"Hey look!" Star shouted. "It's the clothing department!"

"Clothing?" Seraph only quirked an eyebrow. "What do we need at the clothing department?"

Pony Head smirked at her. "Girl, you're gonna need a lot more variety in your clothes if you're gonna hang out with us. Besides, you kinda dress a lot like your dad."

"Yeah," Star mused out loud as she tugged at the sleeve of Seraph's red hoodie, "it really looks a lot like Marco's hoodie. Where'd you get it in the first place?"

"Oh, it was something mom gave me," Seraph answered. "She said it was something she had to remind her of my dad."

Star's lips pursed in thought over that. From what she could remember, Marco had only taken one of his hoodies when he was taken by Hekapoo, but he brought the same one back at the end. Had Hekapoo snuck into his room and stolen one of them? It wouldn't be that hard for her to open a portal to Marco's room anytime she wan-

Aaaand she was going to ignore that train of thought. "Okay, let's get you some new clothes." Star hurriedly pushed Seraph along the row of dresses, motioning for her to pick something out for herself.

"Yeah," Pony Head said, smiling at Seraph, "pick something out for yourself. Like your old man said, 'Individuality is totally like not criminality,' or whateve's."

Seraph paused for a moment. "That kind of sounds like something a doll my mom got me would say." She shrugged before going back to the clothes.

"A doll? You still play wit-oh wait, right. Nevermind." Pony Head zoomed around the shelves with a judging look on her face, then came back and dumped a small pile of clothes in Seraph's arms. "Hm, you seem like a fall or maybe a summer to me, so let's start out with those colors."

As Seraph went into the dressing room to try them on, Star and Pony Head stayed back to wait for her. In the meantime, Star tried to put on a floppy hat and see how look it looked on her in the mirror, but then Pony Head pushed her over to a dark corner of the store. "B-fly, are you okay? You've been acting a bit cray-cray today."

"Pony Head, what are you talking about?" Star just looked back at her in confusion.

"We've been besties for, like, foreve's girl, you think I wouldn't notice anything wrong? Besides, you _never_ forget to get me a scoop of fruity mint swirl, and yet you go ahead and get ice cream with Marco's kid without getting me any." At this, Star tried to excuse herself, but Pony Head wasn't taking any of it. Not without a raised eyebrow, that is. "Does this have to do with your crush on Marco?"

"What?!" Star choked out. "Me and Marco? Ha! Whaaat? Pfft! No way!"

Pony Head just looked at her with a flat expression. "Uh-huh, you keep saying that. But seriously, I can tell something's bothering you _bad_ B-fly. I don't like being all that mushy and stuff, but you know you can count on me if you have any problems."

"No no, Pony Head, you don't need to do that, but thanks for offering." Star sighed. "It's just that… things are just a little bit weird right now with Sarah around, but I can't blame her for all of my problems." Pony Head opened her mouth as if to say something, but Star kept talking before she could say anything. "It wouldn't be right. Besides, things' got to be weird for her too, having to go live on Earth without her mom without any friends or anything." At this, Star stared Pony Head straight in the eye.

" _I_ was like that once, but Marco changed all of that for me. I just feel like I should return the favor by trying to be friends with his...with his daughter." It felt uncomfortably strange for her to say that word out loud, though she couldn't figure out why.

"Aw girl, that got me right in the heart. Okay, let's hug it out."

Star just chuckled before hugging her friend.

"But really, if you ever need to talk about this, I am there for you anytime B-fly," Pony Head whispered to her. "Just let me know and I'll do the rest."

"Hey, uh, Star? Pony Head?"

Star quickly let go of her friend when she heard that voice, trying her best to look as normal as possible. "Yes? What is it?"

"What do you two think?" Seraph asked as she came out of the dressing room, her hands timidly behind her back.

"Oooh, that looks nice!"

0000

"So, Marco, seeing as it's starting to get late, can I give you my thoughts before I go?" Candle leaned in and steepled his hands together. Their talk had lasted well into the day, and now it seemed that it was about to finally come to a close.

"Yeah, suuure?" Marco said, less than excited for what he would hear.

"I think you just need some more time to get used to life back on Earth."

"I know I need to-wait, what?" Marco jolted up from the couch in confusion. "You're not going to go on about how I should try to 'be more involved with my friends and family' or anything?"

"Well, that _would_ be a good thing for you to do, but Marco," Mr. Candle said as leaned back in his chair, "I think you'll be just fine with a little bit of time. You just have to get used to being back in this world and around everyone, that's all.

As Marco quietly mulled over his words, Mr. Candle sat up and put his hand on Marco's shoulder. "I do realize it might not be the easiest thing for you to, but I think it might make things better for yourself if you stopped trying so hard to be who you used to be and focus on being who you are _now_. Marco, you're still who you are, just with a few extra years of memories and experiences added on. There's no harm in _not_ being the all-perfect-grades safe kid anymore, and I'm sure your family and friends would understand if you go 'out' by yourself sometimes. Just be sure to let them know beforehand, okay?"

 _Beep beep. Beep beep._

Looking down at his watch, Mr. Candle got up from his chair. "And that looks to be about it." He brushed off his shirt and looked Marco in the eye. "Now Marco, I _did_ tell your parents I would give them my thoughts on our conversation, but like we agreed on, I won't be telling anyone about what you told me too much. If you ever want to talk to me again, your parents have my number and you're free to come to my office anytime. See me whenever you want, Mr. Diaz." And with that said, Mr. Candle opened the door and started to walk away.

"Mr. Diaz? Why'd he call me Mr. Dia-" Marco's eyes widened in realization. "Wait a minute."

Rocketing out of his seat and to the door, Marco called out to Mr. Candle. "Hey! Don't think I missed what you did there! You kept calling me by my first name to get me more comfortable with talking to you! That's day-one psychology! I won't fall for that again!"

Mr. Candle simply turned around, shrugging his shoulders with a smirk on his face. "Why, I have no idea what you mean, Marco." He then put his hands in his pockets and whistled off, not looking back at the house as he did so.

0000

A few minutes later, after Marco got the adrenaline out of his system, he found himself on the couch thinking about what Mr. Candle had said to him. However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of space and reality tearing apart. A swirling portal formed in the middle of the living room and Star emerged from it, several bags lining her arms.

"Star?" Marco got up and looked at the princess, who was currently sporting a sheepish grin.

"Sorry we're back so late Marco. We had to find something to eat after we were done shopping, and believe me, three pounds of snacks don't make that good of an appetizer. "

As Star's stomach grumbled in memory of _that_ horrible experience, Seraph stepped out of the portal carrying several bags in her arms as well, though of a much smaller number than the princess. At this, Marco could only blink in surprise.

"Hey dad! Look at what Star got for me! What do you think?"

Seraph's outfit, though she still had her hoodie and boots on, had changed. Underneath a stylish orange leather jacket was her red hoodie, a simple yellow blouse resting under both layers. With her original pair of boots came a new black pair of jeans, and to top off the whole ensemble was a bright red ribbon belt with a silver buckle wrapped around her waist.

As he looked up and down at Seraph's new outfit, Marco could only smile. "You look great in it!" he said, stepping forwards and wrapping his arms around her tightly.

Though she was a bit surprised at first, Seraph hugged him back. "Thanks, dad."

After a short moment of hugging, Marco pulled back and looked her in the eye. "And did you say thank you to Star?"

"Daaad, of _course_ I did," Seraph told him, pulling him back into a hug so he couldn't see her mouth 'Thank you' to Star.

Star just chuckled at the scene, then she looked down at the bags in her hands, seemingly unsure of something.

"You...know what, I think I'll go leave these in your room. You should probably spend some time with...with Marco," Star excused herself as she went up the stairs, leaving Marco and Seraph to finish their hug.

After she left, Marco sighed. "Too bad you two already ate. I was thinking about making some friendship-slash-family nachos tonight, but looks like I won't need to."

"I can still eat!" Seraph told him with a new and eager look on her face. "I want to try those nachos!"

"Well, okay, but it might take some tim-"

A portal formed next to them as a sloth stepped out of it, a clipboard in his hand. "Hey, Quest Buy delivery here for, uh, a Seraph Diaz?"

"Right here!" Seraph took his clipboard and signed it as Marco stared in confusion.

"Wait, what deliver-"

"Bring it in guys!" the sloth called out, and several more sloths came out of the portal carrying several large boxes. As the sound of heavy objects being moved around filled the living room, Marco turned Seraph around to face him.

"Seraph, what's all this?"

Instead of a sheepish look on her face like would be expected, Seraph just looked as happy as could be. "Star thought that I might need some things for my room, so…" she said as she shrugged with an innocent smile.

"And she paid for all these?" Marco felt his shoulders drop as he asked, the urge to facepalm growing every second.

"Yeah," Seraph answered as a sloth with a large ornate dresser passed besides her. "Ooh, she even got the one with rubies on it! I thought she said you guys were sold out!"

Right there and then, Marco decided he needed to have a talk with Star about spoiling his daughter.

"STAR!"

0000

Walking down the night-covered streets, Mr. Candle was in the middle of a phone call with the elders of the Diaz house.

"...Yes, yes...That's all I can say about that...No, there's no need for that, it was my pleasure...Okay, let me know if any new developments come up. Thank you, goodbye."

As he made to put his phone away, a torrent of flame burst into existence to his side. A pair of lilac hands split the curtain of fire and a horned figure stepped out.

"Hey," Tom greeted with a wave as the flames died down behind him. In turn, Mr. Candle simply nodded back.

"Hello, sir."

"So, how did things go?"

"Marco is fine, he just needs some time to readjust." Mr. Candle looked to the side and shifted his jaw a bit. "Actually, finding out he had a daughter was probably the best thing that could've happened for him."

Tom just stared at him in bewilderment. "Really, having a kid helped him?"

"I'm sure he probably would have adjusted back either way, though having a kid like this would just help accelerate things. Plus, well..." Mr. Candle trailed off.

"Plus what?"

Mr. Candle stroked the end of his beard slowly, the corners of his eyes slightly crinkling. "It's actually kind of funny. Sixteen years and he's still not good at realizing some things, even with a kid and _her.._."

"What are you talking about?" Tom asked, completely and utterly lost at this point.

Candle just walked around the confused demon and continued his walk off into the night. "I'll get back to you later, sir. Got some stuff at the office to take care of."

"Dude, don't just walk away!" Tom exclaimed behind him. He then huffed and crossed his arms in annoyance. "Man, that's just rude!"

0000

Marco was lying down on the floor, beaten and weary from the battle he had just endured.

In all his time in Hekapoo's dimension, in all the times he and Star had faced legions of evil monsters together, never once had he felt such a mighty need to run as much and far as he did. Something he knew had been coming had arrived, and as much as he tried to fight it, he couldn't do anything to avoid _it_.

It was already bad enough his parents insisted on giving him the ' _talk'_ again, saying he needed a refresher even though he _absolutely did not need it_.

"-Dad, I already know how to use one, you don't have to do the banana demonstration again!"

His mother only tsked at him while his father started peeling the fruit. "You should still get a reminder so we don't have any more surprise grandkids show up. At least, not without telling us beforehand."

"Mom!"

During _that_ section of his life, Marco's brain had futilely tried and failed to shut down several times in an attempt to preserve the last remaining shreds of his sanity and dignity.

Oh, how much did Marco wish that was as bad as it got. But they weren't done yet. At all.

When his brain had finished rebooting, a barrage of questions about his sex life came barreling into him. They asked him about why he hadn't thought of using a condom, if he'd been with anyone else other than Hekapoo (he hadn't, which he wasn't sure if it relieved his parents or not), and about what exactly his relationship with Hekapoo was. But thankfully and finally, their torrent of inquiries eventually calmed down and finally came to an end with a single question; how was he taking the whole situation?

After deciding to give them the same kind of response he had given to the same question just hours before, Rafael and Angie just smiled.

"I think we understand," Rafael said. He then put his hand on Marco's shoulder. "I want you to know we're here if you need any help."

Enveloping Marco in a hug with Rafael following suit, Angie spoke. "We still love you and we are already falling in love with our granddaughter. Just remember that you don't have to go through this alone."

Marco smiled under their caring embraces. "Thanks dad. Thanks mom. I will."

Angie, pleased at hearing those words but still wanting to make sure their message got across, then looked him in the eye and took a breath. "Marco, we trust you. We trust that you'll make the right choices and that you'll let us know if you ever need us."

At his determined nod, Marco's parents grinned, and they simply left without saying another word, leaving Marco to ruminate about their talk on his bed. He lied down, staring up at the ceiling. After a few minutes, he reached his arm over to his drawer, pulling out a picture. It was the same picture that Hekapoo had given him the night before, and Marco's thoughts soon wandered to the discussion he had with his parents about his and Hekapoo's relationship.

His parents had thought, at first, that they were lovers, but Marco didn't think that word felt right. It had a large weight to it, speaking of a promise and bond that neither of them had ever made to the other nor thought about making. Then his mother had asked if it was like having 'friends with benefits,' but that phrase felt way too tawdry for what they were, and Marco asked his mother never to use that phrase again.

If he was asked, Marco would easily call Hekapoo a friend, a former rival, and someone he could trust. But truthfully, when he thought about it, he wasn't actually entirely sure what they were. On some days, they would hang out together at whatever crazy party had caught Hekapoo's eye, and on some nights, when the mood struck them, they'd share a bed, but they didn't really think much of it afterwards.

However, most of the time, it was simply spent in their 'game' of chase, exchanging friendly and harmless jokes and taunts as Hekapoo weaved in and out of his grasp and as he followed her wherever she went. Marco didn't know where they stood now, especially with Seraph in the picture, but he knew that he would try to be the best parent he could, and he hoped that Hekapoo would do the same.

Standing up from his bed to get ready for the night, Marco moved to put the picture away-making a mental note to get a frame for it in the meantime-but in his open drawer sat an object that he didn't recall putting there.

As he took a closer look, his eye simply twitched as his hand sped to its destination on his face. He groaned as he removed his hand, the box of condoms still sitting in front of him.

" _Really_?"

0000

Wearing a large orange night gown, Seraph had just finished brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed. Her room had been barren the previous day, but now her room was far more full of life. Colorful posters were plastered across the walls, and various knick-knacks from Quest Buy littered her new desk, chairs, and drawers, courtesy of Star.

She was on her stomach, enjoying her new lava lamp from her bed and watching how the blobs inside hypnotically twisted and turned, how they changed size and color as they cast shadows on her walls. When her trance had come to an end, she looked towards a small black frame to her nightstand, which held a worn out picture. It had been a gift from her mother, a picture of Hekapoo with a man wearing a torn leather jacket. Though he looked much older than what he looked like now, the eyes told her exactly who was next to her mother.

Reaching over to her drawer, she pulled out the second oldest gift from her mother, a doll of her favorite princess, and she turned off her light. Crawling under her covers, she looked up at her ceiling, which was now covered with dozens of glow-in-the-dark stars, arranged to resemble the night sky from her mother's dimension. Memories of her mother taking her outside at night right before going to be to point out the stars, telling her about the constellations, the stories about their stars, and about her father ran through her head. She then cuddled her plush dragon and her doll tightly, the voice of her mother whispering good night to her.

"Good night mom. Good night, Princess Marco."

She yawned as her eyelids started to feel heavier and heavier. "I wonder if you...know...my…...dad…"

And then, she fell asleep, softly snoring the night away.

0000

Omake: Mother's Day

In the middle of a family living room, on a bright and sunny Californian day, a pair of blades cleaved through reality, leaving behind an orange swirling vortex just shy of the coffee table and barely missing the fireplace. A pair of red boots made their way out of the portal as it closed behind them, their wearer looking around the room for a specific daughter of hers.

Hekapoo had just come from scouring through a good chunk of the multiverse, searching for the leak for the Magic High Commission, and at the moment, she was looking forwards to a nice hot lava bath at her castle and some peace and quiet. However, instead of her forge, she was currently standing in the middle of the Diaz family home.

Seraph had been especially adamant about spending the day together, _this_ day on Earth, for some reason Hekapoo had no clue towards. Though her visits to the house had started to become slightly more and more frequent in the recent past, apparently _today_ was supposed to more important than all of the rest, one day that her little girl just _had_ to spend the entirety of with her.

Although she loved her daughter very much and was interested to find out what was just so special about this Earth date, reasons had just piled up to try and keep her away today. A case of someone abusing a pair of scissors she had made because they had partied too hard and got the wrong drinks, having to stock up on materials for her forge, and the Commission had taken up a large chunk of her day, almost making her forget about everything else except getting some relaxation, but thankfully, she managed to remember to keep her promise to Seraph before the day was up.

Hekapoo took a few steps, her footsteps muffled by the thick carpet under her boots. Normally, whenever she showed up, the house would have been full of life with at least one person around to hear her entrance, but nobody greeted her this time. Not even Seraph.

"Hello? Anyone here?" she called out, hoping for a response. "Seraph? I'm here!"

However, the one she _did_ receive was the smell of something burning, which was soon followed by the sound of a fire alarm going off upstairs. Following the smoky smell and ignoring the blaring of the alarm, Hekapoo raced her way to find Seraph in the Diaz kitchen surrounded by a large amount and variety of foods, with quality ranging from 'horribly undercooked' to 'pure charcoal,' and an almost completely ruined kitchen. In the middle of the mess was Seraph herself, covered in ash and the remains of burnt food with a fire extinguisher in her hand and an _extra-smoked_ apron tied around her waist.

"Uh...surprise?" she said slowly, a strained smile stretching under Seraph's tired eyes.

"Seraph, are you okay?!" Hekapoo quickly grabbed a napkin and started to wipe what could be generously called fried eggs from Seraph's face.

Her daughter only let out a disappointed and disheartened sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine. I managed to put out the fire before the house burned down."

Hekapoo looked at the scene of cooking carnage around her and the faint impressions of smoke in the ceiling. All she could do was blink. "Sweetie, what happened?"

"Well, I was trying to cook something, but…" Seraph glanced in the direction of the piles of ruined pots and dishes, "it didn't quite...work out that well."

Hekapoo blinked. "Why are you trying to cook? And where's everyone?"

Seraph let out another sigh. "Abuelo and dad took grandma out to brunch."

That sentence just puzzled Hekapoo. "Brunch? I think Marco mentioned that once. That's, like, a mix of breakfast and lunch, right?" Seraph simply nodded at her, to which Hekapoo quirked her eyebrows. "So, what? Do they put eggs in burgers or something?"

"Actually, they _do_ do that here and it's quite yummy, though it can get a bit messy sometim-wait," Seraph stopped herself, shaking her head. "That's not why I...This was supposed to be a special meal for you. It's…Today's Mother's Day, mom."

Hekapoo quirked her eyebrow. "Mother's Day? What's that?"

"It's an Earth holiday mom, it's meant to celebrate, well, moms. You're supposed to do something nice for your mom and spend the day with them. Dad invited me to go with them to grandma's brunch, but I wanted to spend the whole day with you." At that, Hekapoo's heart turned to mush, full of adoration for her daughter. "I even tried to make you a nice meal, but..." Seraph pouted and looked downwards.

Hekapoo softly chuckled before planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "That's very thoughtful of you." She leaned down, caressing Seraph's cheek with her hand. "You _do_ remember you don't know how to cook yet, right?"

Seraph held out an open book, its pages freshly stained with ingredients and ash. "I thought I could just follow the recipe, but then it got all confusing with the broiling and the sautéing thing and the stuff."

"Yeah, cooking _is_ more of an art than a science," Hekapoo said, her finger on her chin in remembrance of her first times cooking. "Even _I_ took some time to get good at it the first time I tried."

Seraph smiled for a moment, but then looked down and rubbed her elbow morosely. "I really messed things up, didn't I. I ruined the kitchen and I couldn't even cook anything properly for you, mom. Sorry about all this."

"Sorry? Sorry about what? We get to spend the day together, isn't that the point?"

Seraph looked up at her mother, a small and hopeful grin forming on her face.

"Okay, let's clean this place up first," Hekapoo told her. "Then we'll see what's still left in the fridge and we can make something together. "

"Really? But _I'm_ supposed to make something for you. It's supposed to be a gift!"

"Well, I get to spend the day with you and that's all I need. If you really want to give me something, then help me make something we can both share."

Thankfully, Hekapoo knew some magic for the stains and smell of smoke lingering on the walls from her times in her forge, and her pyrokinesis definitely helped with getting rid of all the ruined dishes of food, though she hoped the Diazes wouldn't notice the 'cleaned up' stove, oven, and fire alarm upstairs. At least the delivery guys had the same models of equipment on hand, thank goodness, but that blaring had started to get on her nerves after a while.

Now, Hekapoo and Seraph were looking through the fridge and pantry for something to cook. It had been a few tiring hours since Hekapoo had arrived from her exhausting work, but here with her daughter, she barely felt tired at all.

"You know," Hekapoo began while squeezing an avocado to test its ripeness, "for a long time, I didn't know how to cook either. I mean, I don't really need to eat or anything so I never really bothered to learn back then. I just ate whenever I wanted to just because, and if I happened to want something to eat then I could just go out and get something. But if you asked me to actually cook something from scratch? Heh, now _that_ was a recipe for disaster!" Hekapoo laughed at some far off memory in mirth, remember her own epically terrible attempts at cooking. Though Seraph had only ruined part of her kitchen, Hekapoo would have been lucky just to have one at the end of things.

Seraph listened in rapt attention as she absentmindedly picked up a loaf of bread and some garlic cloves. "So how _did_ you learn to cook?"

"Well, your dad actually taught me how to make my first real dish and a couple of cooking techniques as well." Hekapoo started chopping some vegetables with a knife, the cuts smooth and quick. Meanwhile, Seraph tried the same next to her, though her cuts were much slower and not as even. "And then, when I had you, I started to taking cooking classes, as I was _not_ just going to order takeout every single day. Luckily for me, I had some time to learn; baby food comes in jars and doesn't take much to prepare, and clones are pretty helpful for being in more than one place at a time."

As they slid the chopped pieces into a boiling pot on the stove, Hekapoo's mind wandered back to the past. "The day you were born was one of the scariest days of my life. When I got to the hospital, I was in complete pain everywhere. I didn't even realize that I was pregnant with you until the doctors told me!"

Hekapoo set down her empty board and knife and exhaled softly. "I didn't even have time to think about the whole situation before I had you. You were this tiny little thing with messy red hair and blinking gold eyes, and you had such a strong little grip with those tiny fingers." She paused in the middle of setting up plates on the table, and Seraph couldn't find anything to say.

"I remember the first thought I had back then. I made this. I made _you_. I made this amazing living thing in my arms, and I was _responsible_ for this life. I was this baby's whole world right now, and it was scary and wonderful all at the same time." Hekapoo turned to look Seraph in the eye, her face soft and smiling. "At that point I realized something. Something incredible."

"What?" Seraph found herself asking, blinking owlishly at her mother. "What did you find out?"

Hekapoo gave a kind and loving smile as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. "I realized that I loved you. That no matter how scary things got, I would always love you. That I would _always_ love you, no matter what."

Seraph's heart surged with emotion as she reciprocated the hug. "I love you too, mom."

They stood there for what seemed to be a silent eternity, arms around one another and their love for each other almost palpable in the air. Nothing could possibly interrupt this moment. Nothing, that is, except the ding of a timer. Hekapoo and Seraph broke their hug, joyful tears welling up in their eyes, then they laughed together.

"Looks like the food's done."

It wasn't exactly a gourmet five-star meal, but that didn't matter to the mother and daughter pair. It was something they had made together, and that was all they cared about. They spent the meal talking about Seraph's progress at school and the new friends she had made as well as some of the craziness that Hekapoo had to deal with earlier. Who knew that popcorn machines could be used like that?

Afterwards, when they were out of topics and food and the day was starting to get late, Hekapoo got the idea to end the day with taking Seraph somewhere special in the multiverse. She had shown Seraph places with waterfalls made of diamonds, seas that slept with rivers that dreamed, and people made of smoke in cities made of songs before, but now she wanted to bring Seraph to a special event that would be happening soon, one that Seraph had never seen yet.

This event was the Kagero 'Celestial Lights,' a phenomenon that only occurred once every few millennia where several traveling clusters of sentient meteors would meet and collide with each other. These collisions would knock off and transfer gathered materials and information between the clusters, with some taking in said materials to grow and learn, and others using them to give birth to a new generation of meteors to travel the multiverse, eventually repeating the process far in the future. It was a sight to behold, and every instance was completely and utterly unique.

Hekapoo had taken Seraph to the Kagero star system; specifically, to a distant and lush planet called Fons. Fons was a planet full of forests and lakes, and the atmosphere was just perfect for viewing the celestial occurrence. Lying under a night-filled sky on the ground, the grass beneath them smelling like apples, the meteor storm had erupted above their heads. The sky danced with lights, awash in purples, greens, brilliant yellows, and colors Seraph swore didn't exist.

It was to these wondrous lights that Seraph had fallen asleep, and so Hekapoo, not wanting to wake her up, carried her back home and tucked her into bed. Placing Seraph's dragon plush next to her, Hekapoo watched as Seraph slowly reached out and cuddled it. Gently, Hekapoo kissed her daughter on the forehead and went to create a portal back home, but a hand sneaked out of the covers and caught hers.

"Thank you, mom," Seraph sleepily whispered. "Happy Mother's Day."

Hekapoo smiled. "Thank you, Seraph. Good night, I love you."

And with that, reality was cleaved open and closed as sleep finally took Seraph. That night, she dreamt of the times she shared with her mother and of the days they'd spend together in the future, all with a pleasant grin on her face.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hey, so, sorry for how long it's taken me to update. Me and my beta have been working out the details for future storylines. Basically, we got a lot of stories planned out and got details worked out. So, hopefully the story will come out more coherent and just overall better.**

 **On a personal note I'm looking for a new job, I'm working on an abridge series as writer and editor and some voices. I'm writing my own book and trying to polish it up before having people look it over and get an editor. Plus I've gone ahead and written several rough drafts of future chapters. So, kinda been busy.**

 **Thank you for all your kind reviews and waiting for me to get my stuff together. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Also sorry for the late Mother's Day omake, yeah things didn't work out there.**

 **Final note, the new cover is something I commissions from hntrgurl13 on tumblr, go check their stuff out, buy things from them and tell them I sent you. And I guess leave a review in this story telling me what you think and if you got those references.**

* * *

 **Beta Notes: Yeah, sorry about the late update as well. Figuring and planning out all of the future stories and arcs took quite a long time on its own, and having finals and AP exams the past few months really slowed down my ability to edit, especially with entire sections that we had to all but rewrite and the conversations, but we finally managed to finish this chapter. It's been really fun helping out with future stories (and exciting to wait for your reactions to what we've gotten planned), and thankfully, I'll be a bit more free this summer to work on this story. Also, we've hidden a couple of references in this chapter, especially one to an obscure game series that first came out about a decade ago. Kudos to anyone who can figure out the references!**

 **This is IdeaGenerator, signing off.**


	4. Chapter 4: School Life

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

 **Special Thanks to my beta IdeaGenerator**

* * *

Chapter 04: School Life

"-and that's about it," Marco finished. At the moment, he was currently standing in front of Principal Skeeves' desk, Seraph sitting in a chair next to him and his parents right behind him. It was early in the morning outside, well before school would start. Most people would have been asleep at this time, but thankfully for the Diazes, Principal Skeeves was a _very_ early waker.

"Oka _aay_ ," Principal Skeeves said slowly, looking at the four of them with a narrow pair of eyes, "so let me get this straight. _This_ girl-" he pointed at Seraph, "-is actually _your_ daughter?" now looking at Marco.

He nodded. "Yes."

"And she's actually only a month old, but is physically and somewhat-mentally about fourteen years old because of the strange physics of a magical dimension?"

"That's about it."

"And you would like me to enroll her into this school?"

"Yes please, if you can," Rafael replied, a smile on his face.

"And you would like her to start today despite the fact that the semester is well underway?"

"If it is at all possible," Angie added.

Principal Skeeves hummed for a moment and tapped his fingers together, then he exhaled slowly as he opened one of the drawers in his desk and stuck his hand in. "...Alright, just give me some of your time and we can get her started as soon as possible, " he said, rummaging around and eventually pulling out a thick stack of paper.

Marco blinked. "Really? That easy?" He was more than a little surprised, especially since he had imagined things would have gone with a lot more difficulty.

Adjusting his glasses, Principal Skeeves looked flatly at Marco. "Normally, I would say no, but considering these...odd circumstances, I think it would be best to help you as much as I can to ensure your continued enrollment at this school stays possible." He then shrugged. " _Plus_ , you caught me while I was in a good mood. They released a new flavor of ice cream today, and it didn't disappoint." Standing up from his chair and offering his hand to Seraph, Principal Skeeves smiled warmly. "Welcome to Echo Creek Academy!"

Underneath his friendly expression, he gave a deep sigh of relief that, after the surprise enrollment of one Star Butterfly earlier in the year, he had made extra copies of the forms from that incident. Without them, it would have been near impossible to get through all the red tape and governmental bureaucracy for creating a whole new file for a such a 'unique' individual as a student. And who knew how the Diazes would have reacted if he couldn't get the newest member of their family into his school.

Honestly, he couldn't afford to lose Marco Diaz in any way, shape, or form. Echo Creek Academy _needed_ him and his safe-thinking ways to keep up their reputation as the cleanest and safest school in the district- _even if he_ has _been slipping on that behalf rather recently,_ Principal Skeeves thought.

That, and he dreaded seeing the day that Janna Ordonia would stop being distracted by messing with Marco Diaz and try to pull off some of her larger schemes. He almost shuddered imagining the arrival of such a day, but thankfully, he managed to collect himself before any of the Diazes could see it.

 _And_ , he thought, _I could probably just add her to the Butterfly expenses. Thank goodness_ they _understand why I charge them, unlike_ some _oblivious parents who couldn't understand that, yes, their 'poor, innocent Jeremy' would act that way and that he'd_ -

Principal Skeeves shook those thoughts out of his head as Seraph took his hand with a surprisingly strong grip.

"Thank you so much sir!" she exclaimed, beaming at him as she let go.

Principal Skeeves chuckled as he sat down into his chair. "Oh-ho- _ho_ , and she's polite too! What's your name?"

"It's Seraph. Seraph Celosia Diaz."

Clicking a pen, Principal Skeeves set the first page of the stack of documents in front of himself. "Okay, how do you spell that?"

"Celosia?" Marco questioned.

"Yeah, mom got it from-"

"A red flower, one with flame-shaped heads, right?" Marco finished for her, thinking back a long time ago. He remembered clearly the day when Hekapoo first brought him to her personal private gardens, planted and full to the brim with those flowers. It was a beautiful sight, all those flowers in bloom and rippling across the field in rich waves of reds, oranges, and yellows in the wind, making it look as if the entire field was a living sea of fire. It wasn't hard to see just why Hekapoo had picked that name for Seraph.

Sometimes, when she would bring him there, they would dance amongst the flowers under the light of her three moons to her favorite rave music, laughing and dancing the nights away, but most of the time, it was nice to simply lay down in the fields together and try to pick out shapes in the clouds above them. The last time he had been there, it had been the night right before he returned to Earth-and, as he realized now, the night they had made Seraph.

Then, shaking him out of his musings, Seraph nodded. "Yeah, it's mom's favorite flower."

"Yes, yes, that's all well and good," Skeeves said impatiently, "but seriously, I really do need to know how to spell her name. I can't stay in this office all day."

0000

When the bulk of the papers had been completed, Principal Skeeves had printed out Seraph's schedule and sent her along with Marco to tour her around the school. Meanwhile Rafael and Angie stayed behind to finish their part of the paperwork, as well as making an appointment for Seraph to meet her school counselor soon.

After having introduced Seraph to where she'd have to go for later, Marco was in the middle of walking her to her very first classroom, one that, coincidentally, they both shared. However, as the pair was walking around the school, they had to come to a stop as a swirling portal formed in front of them. A short moment afterwards, Star jumped out as it closed behind her, her back to Marco and Seraph.

"Marco!" she called out, searching around in front of her. "I got your scissors! I'm not too late for school, am I?"

"Uh, Star, we're right behind you."

Star whirled around with surprise on her face, a large bag in her arms. "Oh, there you are!" She then held out the bag towards Seraph with a small smile. "I got you a little something from Quest Buy to start off your day!"

Marco narrowed his eyes at her. "Star, what did we talk about last night?" he asked firmly, crossing his arms.

"Oh, what, this?" Star said as she glanced down at the bag in her hands. "Oh, _no_! This isn't spoiling her!" she quickly shot back. "I just thought I'd get her something for her first day at school." Sticking her hand in the bag, she pulled out a backpack shaped like a dragon's head, scaled green with a cartoonishly floppy red tongue and large googly eyes. "I probably would have gotten it yesterday but I didn't think you'd need it so soon." She rolled her eyes and looked to the side, her hands on her hips as she huffed. "Really into making kids go to school in this dimension, I swear..."

"Aw, thanks Star!" Seraph said, taking the backpack from Star. As she was presently wearing a spare and generic red backpack Rafael and Angie had pulled out of Marco's closet, she took it off and tried the new backpack on, adjusting the straps and seeing how it felt on her back. "I love it! I think I'm going to call him Burrito!"

"Huh, that's really thoughtful of you Star," Marco praised, his previous concerns quickly forgotten.

Star just waved his comments off with her hand. "Pffft, it was nothing. With how boring school can be, I thought something to cheer her up would be nice."

While Seraph took off her dragon-pack and starting moving supplies into it from her spare bag, Marco whispered to Star, "Thanks for doing that for her."

"No problem," she whispered right back. Then, she took out a pair of scissors and put them in Marco's outstretched hand. "And thanks for letting me borrow these."

"You're welcome," he said, then he slowly raised his eyebrow at her. "As long as you _tell_ me first before you use them next time for 'shopping,' okay?"

Star just responded with a sheepish grin. "Kay Marco. Now let's go!" And with that, she grabbed his hand and was off with a spring in her step, pulling him along for the ride.

Honestly, Marco didn't mind Star borrowing his scissors all that much-they were friends after all, _and_ he _was_ originally trying to get back 'Star's' pair in the first place, though he really should have figured that of course Pony Head would do something like _that_. It was just that, after working so long and hard for them, it made him anxious whenever he considered the possibility that he could've lost his scissors, especially with how much trust Hekapoo was placing on him to use them responsibly.

But though he was still a little bit angry about Star borrowing his scissors for a trip to Quest Buy without telling him-and was still getting used to actually having a pair after years traveling without them-he had faith that she would bring them back safe and sound.

As the trio started to head off for class again, three familiar faces that had been waiting for them came up to them; Janna, Alfonzo, and Ferguson. The former had a Cheshire grin on her face, smug like a cat that ate a canary. She greeted Marco with a half-lidded stare, her tone slow and flirty. "Oh hello, _daddy_. Nice to see you here."

Marco just pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Please don't call me that again."

"I make no such promises," Janna teased. "You just make things _too_ easy."

On the other side of things, Alfonzo and Ferguson took the chance to introduce themselves properly to Seraph.

"Hello, I'm Alfonzo! I'm a friend of your dad. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask me," Alfonzo said warmly, adjusting his glasses.

Meanwhile, Ferguson puffed-or tried to puff-out his chest and proudly gave Seraph his best smile. "You can just call me Ferguson, or just Ferg if you like." He then shifted his eyes back and forth as he shuffled up to her conspiratorially. "Also, you think you can convince Star to turn me and Alfonzo back into a centaur?"

Seraph slowly leaned backwards with an unsure smile on her face. "Well, I, uh…I-I _guess_ I can try, Justferg?"

However, at that moment, the warning bell rang, signifying a few minutes were left before the start of class. "Looks like we should start going now," Marco alerted the group, which now started to slowly make its way towards the classroom.

While they were walking, Janna put her arm around Seraph's shoulder, surprising the young girl with the sudden contact. "Okay, here's a tip for your first day of school: don't show any weakness. The first chance you get, punch the toughest person you see as hard as you can. Show everyone you won't be pushed around."

Seraph just blinked at her confusedly. "...but wouldn't that be my dad?"

"No, Janna, just...Just no." Marco said, exasperated. "Nobody is punching anyone."

Janna just snickered as Marco rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath. "I _definitely_ didn't come back for this." After shaking his head, he turned to Seraph, giving her a smile. "Just try to be friendly and be yourself, and everything going to be just fine. I'm _sure_ they're going to love you. "

Hopefully, that is.

0000

As the first class had already settled into their seats and the warning bell several minutes ago, Miss Skullnick had stopped the late group of friends at the door, only letting everyone except the Diazes into the classroom.

"Considering the situation," Miss Skullnick began, "I think it might be best if we tell everyone the truth about you, Seraph. This way, we can deal with answering most of the questions ahead of time." She then crossed her arms, a sympathetic tone entering her voice. "And don't worry Marco. As long I'm here, I'll keep things from getting out of control."

Marco thought about it, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess it's for the better if we do that." If Janna hadn't already told everyone else already, they were gonna find out Seraph was his daughter sooner or later, so it made sense to explain the truth before the rumor mill could get its hands on it.

As Miss Skullnick then stepped through the classroom door, Marco stayed back for a moment to talk to Seraph.

"So, are you nervous?"

"Uh, a little bit," Seraph admitted, peeking into the room. It hadn't really sunk in for her yet, but after seeing all the people in the classroom, people that very likely knew her father and were complete strangers to her, she was starting to feel a bit apprehensive at the prospect of standing up in front of them all.

"Well, it _is_ your first day at school. Everyone gets nervous on their first day, but don't worry, Star and I are here for you. And you can always count on my friends for help-" he paused for a moment, "-okay,maybe not Janna all the time, but she's okay, you can trust her." His brows furrowed. "...I think."

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of motion through the window in the classroom door. Shifting his eyes over, he could see Miss Skullnick gesturing at him, inviting him to come in and face everyone.

"Well, here goes nothing." Putting his hand on the doorknob, he turned one last time towards Seraph. "Just wait a bit to come in. We'll introduce you to everyone first."

Opening the door, he was greeted with the sound of the usual chatter one could expect from a class of high schoolers; full of the newest trends and gossip about national and school celebrities. As soon as the door closed behind him, Miss Skullnick exclaimed over the noise, "Everyone be quiet!"

After a few moments of waiting for the volume to die down, she started talking again, this time in a quieter tone. "Okay, class, we've got a new student today, so everyone be nice and welcoming for…for..." Miss Skullnick sighed and turned towards Marco. "Just bring her in Marco."

The class was silent as everyone looked at him as he opened the door and let Seraph in. Some stared at the horns poking out of her hair, others glanced at her heels-slash-boots combo, but all of them could notice the similarities between her and Marco, _especially_ their choice of hoodies.

"Go ahead and introduce yourself." Miss Skullnick gestured towards Seraph with her hand as faint murmurs started being traded around the room. Seraph was rooted to the spot for a moment, not sure what to say until she saw Star and Janna at the back of the room, waving at her and giving her the thumbs-up respectively. Feeling a bit better knowing she had their support, she looked at Marco, who just gave her a smile and a faint nod.

Encouraged, Seraph gave a small wave to the class. "Oh, uh, hello," she said timidly. "My name's Seraph Diaz and I just moved here, so it's nice to meet you all."

Marco opened his mouth to speak when someone in the back suddenly cut him off. "So, like, are you Marco's cousin or something?"

Unfortunately, for his desire to ease the class into an explanation, Seraph immediately responded to the question. "Actually, he's my dad."

The class fell dead silent as the words began to sink in. As Marco physically braced himself for the inevitable outburst, Miss Skullnick, used to dealing with such things in her long career of teaching, started to count down with her fingers. "Five, four, thre-"

"WHAT?!" nearly everyone shouted, the force of their shout almost bowling Seraph over.

"Uh oh," the teacher said, her eyes widening at the premature detonation, "that's not good."

With the classroom erupting into a maelstrom of questions and out of their seats, Seraph couldn't help but flinch and shrink back at the noise. Seeing her reaction, Marco jumped in front of her, his arms stretched out as if trying to protect her from the words. "Okay! Everyone, please, just calm down!" However, his attempt at quieting the class just caused the questions to come even faster, now directed at _both_ him and Seraph instead of just the poor girl.

As he stood there, trying vainly to get the class to be quiet again, he could barely hear the shouts of Miss Skullnick, trying and failing to do the same, over everyone else. Then, from behind him, he felt someone grab the back of his hoodie. Turning his head back, he came face to face with Seraph clutching onto him for safety, overwhelmed and frozen by the commotion going on around her.

Facing back towards the rest of the classroom, his eyes narrowed then closed as he shifted his jaw. His chest swelled and contracted several times, air flowing through his nose and out his mouth as almost every sound disappeared from his ears, leaving only the beat of his heart as it slowed and steadied. Opening his eyes, he stared at the scene of chaos unfolding in front of him, Miss Skullnick struggling to be noticed and obeyed despite her intimidating size while his friends were swallowed up by the frenzy.

Then, his mouth opened.

"Everyone, settle down! _Now_!"

And with that, the class fell silent once more. Not even Brittney, the biggest gossip in the school, gave a peep as the seconds ticked by.

"I get that you all have a lot of questions, but let me make a few things clear _before_ you ask them."

Slowly, everyone sat back down in their seats. Even Miss Skullnick found herself sitting back at her desk. Despite looking no older than the rest of them and being dressed in a very unassuming set of clothes, he easily commanded all of their attention.

Marco's head turned slowly, surveying the room around him. "Yes, I have a kid. Yes, she's coming to school here. Now, if you have any questions, _one at a time please_."

A moment passed, then his eyes flicked over to the back of the room, a hand tentatively raising upwards in his sight. "Yes?"

The person who had raised his hand shifted in his seat as the whole class turned to look at him, realizing that everyone's eyes were now on him. Nervously and slowly, he put down his hand. "So, uh, like, um...h-how? How did you have a kid?"

Marco looked at him, then he nodded sharply. "It's...complicated, but I'll do my best to explain. Just a few weeks ago, I came back to Earth from having spent several years in another dimension." At the outbursts that arose from the class, asking how that even worked, he held out his hands in a placating manner. "Yes, I know that it may be hard to believe or wrap your head around, but that's just how time works there. A minute here equals two years there."

He then stared off into the distance, captivated by something unseen by anyone else. "I had gotten stuck there, unable to return to Earth, so I went chasing after a way to get back for all of those years." His tone became nostalgic, lost in memories of a time not too long ago. "I traveled across many worlds, meeting and making many friends along the way. Heck," he said, a proud grin taking over his face, "I even fought hordes of evil creatures, tamed a wild dragon-cycle, and even earned my own pair of dimensional scissors!"

"But how did you have a kid then?" a voice said, interrupting his thoughts.

Marco blinked, having been snapped out of his reverie, then he shook his head amicably. "Oh, oh yeah. Sorry about that, I got a bit sidetracked there. So anyways, while I was there, I met someone named Hekapoo, the fastest _and_ the most fiery girl I've ever met," he said with a wave of his hand and a light chuckle. "It took me years just to catch up to her, though there _were_ a few times when I managed to get _this_ close to her." He emphasized the distance with his fingers and a squint, but when he opened his eyes to look back towards the room, they fell onto the wincing, hurt face of one Jackie Lynn Thomas.

Suddenly finding it hard to speak, Marco couldn't help but notice all the stares of the people surrounding him, watching him, _judging_ him. Only now realizing just _what_ it was that he said and _who_ he said it to, he tried to find within himself the strange confidence that had just filled him and given him a voice, but found nothing left. Opening and closing his mouth like a fish, he stood there at the front of the class with very little to say in mind, and it was as if a switch had been flipped in everyone.

No longer were they looking at someone both paradoxically young and not, but Marco Diaz, the awkward teenager. Grasping at anything he could do to get out of this situation, he blurted out the first thought that came to mind. "Sothat'swhyyouuseprotectionkidsokaythankyouI'mjustgoingtositdownnow." And with that, his chair screeched underneath him. Seraph hesitatingly followed suit a few seats over as he tried to face forward and ignore everyone behind him, _especially_ a certain girl with a seashell necklace.

Miss Skullnick just facepalmed at the sad display, the loud sound gathering the room's attention and regaining some control over the room. "Alright class, now _that's_ over, it's time to get back to class. Today's announcements are..."

While Marco put his face into his hands with a groan, heavy thoughts swirling around in his mind as the lecture went on, someone tapped his shoulder. Confused, he froze, unsure if he really felt that until they tapped him again. Glancing backwards, he saw that it was Justin, the captain of the football team and apparently now his first interrogator of the week. "What?" he tersely whispered, hoping Miss Skullnick wouldn't notice.

"So wait, you and Star _didn't_ have a kid?"

Whatever he expected Justin to say, that was not it. Half-formed words died in his mouth as his brain tried to find the logistics behind that question. "...What." He scrunched his brow and blinked his eyes several times, unable to come to a conclusion of any kind. "Where'd you get _that_?"

Justin looked at him strangely. "But I thought…" He paused, then shook his head. "Actually, nevermind."

"Ok _aaay_. Right." As he looked away, Marco tried to focus back onto the lesson on the board, but he couldn't help but be distracted by the sound of a sigh coming from a certain direction, one he was afraid to look. Turning his head, he caught a flash of movement in the corner of his eye, the shifting of blonde and blue curls of hair. With a heavy weight in his gut, he spotted Jackie, who was now trying to avoid making eye contact with him.

However, as she fidgeted with her hands, her eyes slowly started to swivel towards his own with a sad frown. Marco almost didn't catch what she said as she spoke so softly that it almost seemed like a whisper.

"We need to talk later. After school."

He processed her words, then he nodded firmly. Hopefully Seraph would be fine with going home with Star by then.

0000

Unfortunately, for his state of mind, it felt as though each one of his classes passed by in an instant, with Jackie's deadline looming over him like an overbearing shadow. The only thing that could take his mind off worrying about the upcoming meeting was worrying about how Seraph's first day at school would go. As he couldn't be there to keep watch over her for every one of her classes, the thought of having to let her go off and be by herself worried him. Thankfully, after homeroom, she had math with Miss Skullnick, so he didn't have to worry _too_ much about that period, _and_ they both shared the next class, history.

Considering where she was raised and for how long, Marco wasn't that surprised by how often Seraph would ask for clarifications on every single detail of history. At least their teacher was understanding of the situation, though he could only hope the other teachers would be too as well. After all, he wouldn't see her for several more periods until lunchtime.

But as he walked down the halls towards the cafeteria, Marco couldn't help but feel the stares and the whispers of conversations piling up on his back on the way to lunch, overshadowing his other concerns. He tried his best to ignore them,but it only seemed to make them stand out even more.

"Those horns on her head _are_ real? I thought Star gave them to her as a mom-gift or something."

"Waaah! My Starco fan fiction is ruined now!"

"I thought Marco was dating Star."

"You sure it wasn't Janna? I thought that they just had their own way of messing around with each other."

"No, he's been dating Jackie for a while now. They got together after the dance."

"Wha-Really?! No way! He had a kid with someone else while he was dating _her_? Heh, guess he really _isn't_ that safe."

"I wish _I_ was dating him. _Sigh,_ he's such a bad boy _."_

Marco could only wince at the reminder of his upcoming talk, and the irony of that last part was not lost on him. He pulled the hood of his jacket over his head and gritted his teeth, attempting to block out the mutterings in vain, but their words still got through the red fabric and to him.

"Wait, you're saying _the_ Marco Diaz has a kid? You'd think the safety kid would know to use protection."

"Yeah, I know, right? And the thing is, she's, like, a teenager already even though she's only a month old."

"How does that even work?"

"Magic? I don't know, I got confused when she explained it to me."

"I think it's because her mom's a demon or something."

"A demon?"

"Well, I mean, I _think_ she's one. I mean, she's got horns and fangs and everything, kind of like that guy that invited Star to some ball or whatever a while ago. She's also _super_ pale, but she's _heck-of_ cute. I can see why he'd go for her instead of Jackie."

"How do you know that?"

"Picture. Janna showed it to me for five bucks. She was there when the mom dropped his kid off at his house apparently. Still can't believe that _that's_ what happened between them."

"Heard the new girl almost burned down the school. That would've been _so_ awesome if she did."

Marco rubbed his temples with his fingers, deeply wishing it wouldn't be useless to talk to Janna about what should be kept priva-

He froze in the middle of the hallway, eyes wide open. _Wait, what was that last part?_

But before he could fully process what he just heard, he felt a tug on his sleeve, and turned to see found Seraph looking at him, a concerned-and somewhat guilty, a small part of his mind noted-expression on her face. "You okay, dad?" she asked. "You look like a statue."

"Yeah, yeah, just...zoned out for a bit." Marco absentmindedly shook his head and pulled down his hood. "So, uh, did anything interesting happen for you today?" he said dazedly, almost on instinct, but then he noticed Seraph bite her lip and struggle to avoid his gaze. The faint scent of burnt _something_ emanating from her hair reached his nose, causing it to wrinkle slightly. Taking a closer look, he could see small flecks of multi-colored soot sticking to her hoodie.

"Did something happen? Are you okay?!" he exclaimed, his voice full of worry as he put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes widening.

"I, uh, um…I _might_ have started a fire last period?" Seraph almost asked, her hands twisting around each other. An uneasy smile crossed her face for a moment before it dropped down into a grimace.

"A fire? What happened?"

"Well, uh, um..." Seraph fumbled around for words, unsure how to explain things, but then a certain macabre-loving teenager popped up to rescue her.

"Pottery," Janna said loudly from behind Marco, the sound so uncomfortably close he gave out a yell, reflexively spinning around and almost karate-kicking her in the chest. Stopping his foot just before it could connect, he slowly put it down as his heart beat on, full of adrenaline as well-practiced fighting techniques and strategies eventually started to evaporate from his mind.

Inwardly, he was mildly impressed at the near complete lack of reaction or flinching on Janna's part, though his concerns and questions for her took precedence as a disapproving frown on his face and a pair of crossed arms. "...So, can _you_ tell me what happened?"

"Well, as long you're done putting on a show, sure!" She smirked at him as he rolled his eyes. "Your 'baby girl' tried to make a clay pot and cook it with her fire powers, and she set an entire table on fire instead. It was awesome!" Her tone became more musing, her fingers rubbing her chin in thought. "Actually, that gives me an idea…" She snapped her fingers. "Hey Seraph, in art class tomorrow, think you could help me wi-"

"No Janna, you can't ask her to help you out with any of your 'projects." As Janna snickered in response, Marco turned to Seraph, who wilted under his inquiring gaze. "Seraph, is that true?"

Regretfully, she nodded. "...Yes." She then looked up pleadingly at him. "But it was an accident! The teacher told me that you make pottery by heating clay to high temperatures. I didn't know she didn't have fire-proof tables like mom does or that you have to do it in a kilt-thing!"

Marco closed his eyes. "Did anyone get hurt?" he asked, his voice toneless, impossible to decipher.

"...N-no?"

He took a deep breath through his nostrils, then he opened his eyes and gave her a gentle look. "Then that's all that really matters in the end, Seraph."

She blinked owlishly. "Y-you're...you're not mad at me?" she asked uncertainly.

Now it was _his_ turn to scrunch up his eyebrows. "Mad at yo-No! Seraph, I'm not mad at you!" He took her by the shoulders, surprising her with the contact. "Sure, I am a little disappointed that it happened in the first place, but I can't blame you for not knowing to be careful with your pyrokinesis here on your first day at school, and at least nobody got seriously hurt." His back straightened as his eyebrow raised. "Now, I hope you've learned your lesson about how flammable objects can be, right?"

She nodded determinedly. "Right! I'll be more careful next time!"

Marco gave a sigh of content, the tension in the air dissipating. His face then took on a joking expression as the edge of his lip curled. "Besides, that's nothing compared to Star's first week at school. She almost burned down the entire school by accident. _Three times._ " At her disbelieving stare, he could only chuckle, shaking his head. "Yep, that's what happened. Ah, those were good times," Then, as discreetly as possible, he leaned over to Janna, who'd been watching the whole scene with the same smirk as usual. "So, how much for the damages?"

"About six hundred and fifty dollars, but I'm sure you can get a certain ' _princess_ ' to pay for them," she said with a wink and a grin. She stayed like that for several moments, as if expecting something to happen.

Marco shifted his eyes from side to side, confused at her sudden bout of silence. "...Uh, is that it?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, guess I'll just tell the company to send her the check this month," he said, more to himself.

At this, Janna gave him a flat stare and folded her arms. "Ugh, you're no fun." Then, she lazily saluted off to him and Seraph, her smirk restored as she started to walk away. "Well, looks like I'll be seeing you later when you need _this_ back," she said, waving an orange pouch with a zipper at him.

Marco's hand flew to his waist, but it found nothing. "Janna!" he exclaimed, an annoyed expression on his face.

Now at a sprint, her cackles echoed down the hall. "You can scold me later, _daddy_!"

" _JANNA!"_

Deciding it was not worth the effort to chase her down even though it would have been a cakewalk compared to Hekapoo, Marco grumbled while Seraph just stood next to him, confused at what happened. "Good thing I can make another at home." Then, he turned to Seraph and tried to clear his mind. "...So, how was the rest of your day?"

"It's been going great!" Seraph said excitedly. "I got to learn about how to make stuff with clay in art, and I can't wait to show mom what I can make soon! And PE is really fun! I made a couple of friends there, and we got to play a game called 'bat-min-ton,' though I don't get why there aren't any actual bats involved, and tomorrow we're going to be running laps around the football field!"

However, her mood took a flip as she crossed her arms, a look of exasperation coming over her. "Though the math homework is _so boring!_ I'm not even halfway and I still need a lot more paper for it!"

Marco chuckled loudly at her frustrated, adorable pout. "Heh, you wouldn't be the first to feel that way about math class. Now come on, let's go!" he said with a wave of his hand, his original purpose for coming down this hallway finally remembered. "If we get to the cafeteria in time, there may still be some cake left!"

0000

Thankfully, the cafeteria wasn't that far away, so they arrived a few minutes before the cake ran out and the end of lunch. Unfortunately, for Seraph's next class, Biology, she had to part ways with Marco once more to his regret, but for his sake, at least it was the last class she would have to do so. And to make up for the separation, it was a subject that she found really interesting, just like history-the history of Earth, that is.

Having grown up in another dimension and on the stories about her father, Seraph was excited to learn more about the planet he came from, but she _did_ feel a little saddened when her teacher took the strange old book she found on the floor from her at the end of class. Though it was missing quite a number of pages and was full of unfamiliar words, it had a _lot_ of characters with bizarre names in it, like Mr. Young, Werner, and Erwin, though she couldn't help but write about some of the things they did that exactly didn't make sense to her at times. However, her mood perked up at the sight of her father in her next and second-to-last class, Spanish.

Marco, in turn, was also filled with happiness when he saw Seraph walk in, a feeling of excitement welling up at the thought of being able to hold a full conversation with her in Spanish some day in the future. Although his knowledge of the language had been stunted for a long time, teaching Hekapoo the basics of his language had helped keep the information fresh in his mind, and it soon be came apparent to him that she had done the same with Seraph. Even though her Spanish wasn't the best, it pleased him immensely that she was able to keep up with the rest of the class and teacher without too much trouble.

To top off the end of their day, Marco and Seraph shared a class of English together. Despite being someone with a limited exposure to the field of literature, Seraph dove right into the middle of things with a surprising amount of energy. She had marvelled at the thought of reading stories of times from long, long ago and tales of made-up worlds, and she had even started packing her bag with books before Marco introduced her to the concept of libraries. With her enthusiasm to begin reading, he couldn't help but wonder what her reaction would be to hearing that her grandmother was a poetry teacher.

With all of the textbooks Seraph ended up needing at the end of the day, Marco was thankful that Star liked to shop at Quest Buy so often, as he had been surprised at the amount of foresight put into her gift-backpack for Seraph. Specially charmed to be bigger on the inside and always feel as light as a feather no matter the actual weight of its contents, it was perfect for any school-related situation.

After checking to make sure Seraph had all her books and supplies with her, Marco zipped up her backpack. "You _sure_ you have enough paper?" he asked jokingly, handing the bag to her. "It looks like you took several packs from the supply tables in here."

"Yeah, I'm sure," she said. "I just didn't want to run of paper out for homework."

Marco laughed heartily. "With _that_ much paper, I don't think you'll be running out 'til _college_." Letting out a deep breath, he smiled contently, then he looked her straight in the eye, a slightly more serious look on his face. "When we get home, don't forget to finish all your homework later, okay?" Marco asked authoritatively, to which Seraph nodded.

"Ugh," Janna groaned with a roll of her eyes, "why'd you have to become such a stick in the mud? Loosen up on the poor kid already." Then, she turned to Star, who had just finished texting Pony Head for the day, and a glint shone in her eye. "Hey Star, got any more of those backpacks? I've got an idea."

"Oh sure! They were on sale and I got this…"

Marco wanted to dissuade both of them from whatever it was that Janna had come up with, but then, whatever they were saying faded into white noise as his eyes wandered beyond the pair of troublemakers. Far off in the distance, he spotted the school flagpole, and at its base stood Jackie, waiting.

"Hey, uh, Star, can you take Seraph home for me today? There's something I need to do, and I'm not sure how long it'll take," he said, absentmindedly holding out his scissors towards the princess.

Star smiled at him brightly as she took them from his hand. "Oh, sure thing Marco! You can count on me!"

"Wait, what's happeni-" Seraph tried to ask, only to be interrupted as Star grabbed her hand and pulled her through a portal.

"So, now that we're alone, still want your little belt bag Marco?" Janna asked, waggling her eyebrows. "You can have it back if you give me a little ' _something_ ' in retur-"

Marco strolled past her without even looking at her, cutting her off. "No thanks Janna, I don't need it _that_ much."

"Awww," she said, though she didn't actually sound that disappointed. "Well, looks like I get to keep _this_. See ya!" And with that, she was off, going down the street behind him.

After a quick check of his surroundings, he kept walking to the flagpole, glad to see the courtyard almost completely devoid of people, everyone else having either gone home or to whatever after-school activities they were a part of. It wouldn't do to have people listening in on their conversation.

It was a short walk, and within several moments, he finally reached the flagpole. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," came the reply, "you came."

A pregnant pause hung in the air.

"I'm sorry if I made you angry with me."

Jackie sighed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I'm not angry at you, I just...I just-" She turned away from Marco with a soft frown on her face. "You..." Jackie trailed off, then a deep sigh escaped her lips. She turned her head to look at him in the eye. "Can you...can you just...just _please_ , help me understand. What happened between you and Hekapoo?"

Marco pursed his lips, then rubbed the back of his neck slowly. "I...I don't know what to say."

Another pause.

"...How did it start? How did you two become so...so _close?_ "

Marco leaned against the pole and stared off into the distance. "...I'm...not sure. It just... _happened_." A slight crease formed itself between his eyebrows. "We just started talking someday during my trial, somewhere in between trying to learn how to survive in the wild and going on adventures across the multiverse."

A flash of confusion crossed Jackie's face. "Wait, 'trying to learn how to survive in the _wild_?"

"Yeah-I mean, back at the beginning, it wasn't like I was a master tracker or knew how to make supplies or anything. I spent a lot of the first days just figuring out how to catch food and find shelter, but I got better at it eventually," he said nonchalantly, waving his hand in the air.

Her eyes widened in concern, her voice gaining a horrified tone. "So wait, she just left you there without food or supplies to _die in the wild?!_ "

"What?! " Marco's head shook, a shocked expression on his face. "No! She wouldn't do that!"

Jackie's face turned confused, befuddled. Her eyes looked for an answer in the air in front of her. "So then...then what _did_ she do?"

He held out his hands in front of him, trying to soothe her concerns. "Jackie, Hekapoo's not like that. Whenever I got hurt or nearly starved to death, she would always give me supplies to help me survive." He gestured with his hand, searching for words. "...Look, her trials _aren't_ meant to be easy, but they're not _that_ unfair! I mean, heck, if anything, she could've done a whole _lot_ worse to me considering that, back then, she thought I _stole_ her personal pair of dimensional scissors, _and_ because I actually _did_ abuse them. She saved my _life. Multiple times_. I _know_ I can trust her with anything...and so can you." His breath was heavy now, and he stared at Jackie, his eyes pleading for her to believe him.

She looked at him with an unreadable expression, then she closed her eyes and tilted her head forward, casting her face into shadow. "...So, I guess you just forgot about me instead, right?" she asked softly.

"No, Jackie, I didn't forget you, it's just…" Marco sighed and placed his back against the flagpole, sliding down until he felt the ground beneath him. Next to him, he felt the displacement of air as she sat down as well. "...Jackie, I've been away for sixteen _years_. That's longer than I had a crush on you, longer than I've ever lived on _Earth_."

Pulling up his knees to his chest, Marco stared down the road running in front of the school, looking to where it blended into the edge of the horizon. "I got used to the idea that I might never see you, Star, _or_ my parents for a long time, over a _decade_ ago. I'd thought that, by the time I would've eventually gotten back home, everyone would've moved on with their lives already, so I moved on as well. Star would've become queen, Janna _probably_ would've been on the run from the cops, and you would've found someone else to be happy with, someone who could actually _be_ there for you and get to know you more than I ever did."

Jackie gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Marco, you know I wouldn't do that-"

"Even when you'd be in college or have a job, waiting for someone you only dated for a few weeks in high school and went missing years ago? Someone who never really got to truly know the _real_ you, to see if they actually had something _more_ than just a childhood crush on you?"

Jackie opened her mouth, but only silence came out. Closing her mouth, she looked to the side, then back at him, troubled by her thoughts. "...Then what about the past few weeks? Why'd you keep taking me out if you moved on already?"

Marco was silent for a moment, unsure how to respond. Then, a memory from the day before came to him, the hours he spent talking with Mr. Candle running through his mind. "...I did that because, when I came back to Earth like _this-"_ he gestured at his body, "-I felt like I _had_ to go back to being Marco Diaz the 'safe kid' again, even if I didn't fully remember or know how to _be_ him anymore." Marco stared at his hands, picking out the scars-or lack thereof-he'd earned over the years. He rubbed his fingers together, feeling the sensation of how unfamiliarly _smooth_ they were, then took a deep breath. "...The past couple of weeks, I've been letting who I _used_ to be define should be instead of who I am _now_. I'm sorry if I led you on like that, I didn't mean to."

"Marco," Jackie said, a perturbed tone in her voice.

"It _is_ true though, Jackie. I mean-" he rubbed his forehead with his hand, "-I _did_ enjoy the time we hung out together, I just...it just didn't feel _right_ for me, you know, even when I told myself I did."

"...oh," Jackie said quietly, though not in response to him. "...Was it...is that because you and Hekapoo…hooked up while you were gone?" she asked, looking at him with a questioning expression.

"What?" Marco did a double take at that. "Hooked _up_?" He screwed up his face. "No, _no,_ we're not like _that_. We're friends, we just…" he trailed off, unable to find the right words to explain properly.

"You two were just...casual?" Jackie finished for him.

"I mean...I _guess_ you can it that?" He hesitatingly shrugged his shoulders. "We never really got that serious with each other, and we're really just more friends than anything."

"So you never really thought you'd get her pregnant?" Jackie raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm surprised you didn't use protection or anything. It doesn't exactly sound like something you'd do."

Marco rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I mean, I just didn't think that it would _ever_ happen between us. Heck, I didn't even know it _could_ happen until a few days ago, and I'm _still_ trying to figure it out!" Throwing up his hands in the air at that last part, he let them drop down to the ground by his.

They shared a moment at the bottom of the flagpole, letting a cool breeze wash over them in silence. One of Marco's hands laid on the ground, splayed wide open, while Jackie's lingered nearby, tentatively inching forward and backing up before it returned it its owner's lap.

Even though he didn't turn to look at her or move at all, Jackie could tell Marco had something to say. "...You know, I never meant to hurt you. I completely understand if you want to-"

"Break up with you?" Jackie tilted her head back until she could feel the metal of the flagpole on the back of her head. "...Yeah...it might be for the best." She sat there for a second, thinking, then she turned to him, a hopeful look on her face. "We can still be friends, right?"

"Wha-Of course we can!" he said, wondering why she'd even need to ask such a thing.

She kept her eyes on him for a few seconds, then she shook her head with a small smile and chuckle. "I should've known," she whispered to herself. Then, with a grunt, she stood up and stretched her limbs. "Geez, that pole is uncomfortable." As she rubbed her back with a hand, Marco got up from the ground next to her and stretched as well. Pulling out her skateboard, she set it on the sidewalk and placed her foot on top. "See you later, Marco," she said, looking at him with a smile.

"See you late-"

However, Marco's farewell was cut short as he stood there, his eyes wide as he slowly raised his hand to his cheek. The sound of skateboard wheels grew faint as he watched Jackie ride away with her back to him, the feeling of lips still lingering where his fingers touched.

His mind whirled for what seemed like an eternity, stuck trying to figure out what just happened, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay man?" Ferguson asked from his right, his tone inquiring. Alfonzo stood next to Ferguson, his face displaying concern. "That looked rough."

"I'm...I'm okay," Marco said, unfocused. He blinked once, then shook his head. "I'm fine, really."

Ferguson glanced over to Alfonzo, who could only give an uncertain shrug in return, and looked back at Marco with a smile. "If you ever need someone to talk with about girl problems, we're here for you."

Marco tried to halfheartedly grin at the duo, but it gradually dropped into a confused look. "That's, uh...that's very nice of you guys...but it's not exactly like you guys have a lot of experience with girls."

Alfonzo put his hands on his hips and huffed defiantly, readjusting his glasses with a finger. "Well, I'm the only one of us that actually got married before, remember?"

Marco stared at him uncomprehendingly, his eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. "Wait, you got _married_?"

"Yeah, in Pixtopia with the Pixie Empress!" Ferguson chimed in, oblivious to Marco's confusion and struggle to remember. "And while we are on the subject, I want you to settle something for me. Was it inappropriate of him to marry my ex-fiancee?"

"Ferguson, we talked about this already! You broke up with her in the first place, so it's not!" Alfonzo argued, exasperated.

"Well, _you_ divorced her! I would have _never_ done such a thing to such a pretty lady!"

"I didn't divorce her, she divorced _me_!" He turned his And I'll let you know we're still on good speaking terms with each other!"

Marco looked between the two of them with a unbelieving stare, a long-forgotten memory finally coming back to him. "Wait a minute...Ferguson, why are you even arguing about that? She wanted to _eat_ you!"

"Yeah, so?" Ferguson lifted his nose into the air haughtily. "That means she actually loved me first!"

 _Yep, that's the Alfonzo and Ferguson I remember_ , Marco thought to himself as his palm met his face with a groan, the two continuing to bicker on in front of him about the inane topic.

0000

By the time Marco got home, the sun was low and casting vibrant colors across the sky, and he arrived to hear the sound of laughter ringing through the front door. Turning the knob, he was greeted with the sight of Seraph being horribly assaulted by the many tongues of laser puppies on the living room floor, flailing about at the 'attacks.' Through her laughs, Seraph struggled to speak. "Stop tha-haha! It ti-ti-ahaha-ckles!"

Unfortunately for her, Star had another idea. She picked up one of the pups and started to talk in a silly manner, almost as if she was imitating a whale. "No, you're too tasty to stop. Yum yum!" And with that, Star brought the pup closer to Seraph's face, causing another round of belly laughs to erupt as it licked her nose.

At seeing this, Marco couldn't help but join in with the laughter, his worries forgotten as the puppies found a new target for their 'kisses.' Rolling around on the floor with Seraph, it felt as though a large knot had finally become untied in his gut. Even after the puppies were finished giving their affection, he lay on the floor with a large, tired smile.

 _This is nice._

0000

The next day at school, Marco stretched in his seat as the bell rang for lunch and let out a yawn, feeling his bones pop with the movements. Smacking his lips, he was swept along with the frenzy of students and out into the hallway. After having the first real deep sleep in weeks last night, his body still felt its aftereffects, and he struggled to keep himself from falling back into such bliss even with all the energy he had.

Not in any particular hurry to get to the cafeteria, the loudness of the halls grew quieter as he walked, instead of running like the others. Because of this, he easily and clearly heard a familiar pair of stomps echoing from behind him. Even without his hearing, he would have been able to tell that it was Miss Skullnick simply by the strength behind her footsteps, rocking the ground underneath his feet.

Judging from how fast the volume of her steps increased and how quick they were, Marco eyes widened as he made to move to the side, sleepiness forgotten at the threat of being in the path of a troll running at full speed. But then, she called out to him. "Marco! I need to talk to you!"

For a second, Marco's mind ran through the events of the day, trying to remember if there was anything he could've gotten into trouble for, but his thoughts were interrupted as she came to a stop in front of him, huffing on her knees. Carrying a large stack of paper underneath her arm half as tall as Marco himself, she gave him an expression of wide-eyed shock. "It's about Seraph."

"What?! Is something wrong?" Immediately, a ball of fear started to form in his gut.

"No, there's nothing wrong, just-just look at this!" she exclaimed.

She held out the stack of paper towards Marco, who instinctively held out his own arms and nearly fell forward at the sudden weight. Grunting, he struggled to find a good hold on the way-too-large-to-carry-properly stack of paper before he finally settled for dropping it on the floor, making sure to slowly and carefully set it down so it wouldn't topple over.

"What's this?" he asked as he flipped through the papers, an eyebrow raised in confusion at what he saw. Each and every page was densely packed with mathematical equations and jargon. At the first top pages, he recognized a few simple processes here and there from his studies on catching back up, but as he moved deeper and deeper into the stack, they grew more and more complex to the point where he wasn't even sure they were from the same subject.

"That's every question from the textbook, all answered completely and correctly! I even had to skip grading the homework from the other periods just to make sure it's hers!"

Marco stared at the pile, his jaw beginning to drop. " _All_ of it?" Now that he looked closer, he could definitely tell it was Seraph's handwriting. Full of rune-like letters and numbers, it was a close match to Hekapoo's own, though just a bit rougher. "She thought she had to do the entire book for _homework_? How'd that happen?!"

Miss Skullnick frantically threw her hands in the air. "I don't know! It was a free day yesterday! I just told the class to work on their assignments from the book, not the whole thing!" She then pawed at her pockets, looking for something. "And that's not the only thing!" she said, pulling out a beat-up and extremely worn-out textbook, the lettering on its cover heavily faded but still barely visible.

"Wait, is that a physics textbook?" Marco asked, pointing his finger at the object, which looked like it would and _had_ fallen apart once. "What could she have done with that? She doesn't even have Physics as a class." He then looked at Miss Skullnick questioningly. "And you teach Physics?"

"I don't, but the science teacher Mr. Smith _does_ , and he brought me _this_. Look!" she exclaimed, cracking open the book to a page with a bright new sticky-note. It was chock full of equations in a familiar style of handwriting. "Apparently, this is one of the outdated textbooks he uses to prop up the tables in his classroom, and he caught Seraph writing in it near the end of fifth period Biology yesterday."

Marco furrowed his brow. "But...then why didn't I get notified about that? Isn't that something I need to talk to her about _not_ doing at school?"

"But that's the thing." Miss Skullnick flipped to the beginning of the book and the table of contents. Many of the chapters were circled, with a few like _Thermodynamics_ , _Kinematics,_ and _Dynamics_ sticking out the most prominently. "These equations aren't even taught in _high school!_ Mr. Smith told me he even had to ask several colleagues for help with identifying a few of these equations, and they work on projects like theoretical wormholes or something!"

"Wormholes?" Marco asked, his mind whirring in thought. His eyes widened, then they looked down, a triangular-shaped bulge in one of his pockets calling to them. The shiny glint of metal stared back at him as he made out the shape of his dimensional scissors. He gasped. "Of course!"

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Miss Skullnick asked, confused.

Marco's face was deep in concentration as he ran his fingers across the pair of blades. "Dimensional scissors. Just _using_ them typically involves a basic understanding of the space-time continuum and multiverse theory." Turning his head, he looked Miss Skullnick in the eye. "Hekapoo's the only person in the entire multiverse who knows how to _make_ them, and she's Seraph's _mom_."

A flash of realization came over her as Miss Skullnick opened her mouth to talk, but before a word could come out, two voices called out from the other end of the hallway.

"MARCO-"

"-DIAZ!"

The two spun around to see the assistant gym coach, Minerva, trying to contain two struggling students in her grip. Marco recognized one immediately as Justin, the captain of the football team, from the day before, but the name of the other one, a girl in running clothes, escaped him.

"Calm down you two!" Minerva yelled, barely able to keep a hold on the back of their shirts.

"We are calm!" Justin said, and he managed to twist his shirt out of the teacher's hand. He sprinted towards Marco, almost as if he was about to tackle him, but then came to a stop in front of him and fell on his knees, a begging look in his eyes as he clasped his hands together. "Marco, _please_ , you _have_ to let your kid join the football team!"

"Football?"

Behind Justin, the other girl gave out a yell as Minerva, now able to focus on only one rabid student instead of two, wrapped her arms around the girl and lifted her with a grunt. She then walked up next to Justin, the girl in her arms kicking her legs in the air. "Mr. Diaz," she said, exhausted, "I can't keep this up for much longer. Can you please help me deal with these two?"

Marco and Miss Skullnick stared at the strange display in front of them, not caffeinated enough to deal with _this_ on top of everything else.

Wriggling herself free of the teacher's grip, the girl shoved Justin aside. "Marco, my name is Monique, and forget about football, she needs to join my track team! She just broke the school track record last period! I've _never_ seen anyone run that fast, not even at the Olympics! Say yes! _Please_ say yes!"

At that moment, Justin got up from the floor and tried to shove Monique out of the way. "Don't listen to her! With your kid, the Awesome Opossums will be able to dominate the entire season! We can finally get a winning streak over the Warriors!"

As the two quarreling students glared at each other, Marco put his arms between them to separate them. "GUYS!" he yelled forcibly, grabbing their attention as their screaming died down. "How about I talk to Seraph first _before_ you ask me for permission, okay? How does that sound?" Out of the corner of his eye, the large stack of paper standing next to him and the textbook in Miss Skullnick's hands caught his attention. "I know _I_ need to," he muttered quietly, barely paying attention to the wide-eyed nods from Justin and Monique.

0000

In a darkly-illuminated office, Mr. Candle gestured to a bowl of candy on his desk. "Go ahead, help yourself if you want."

"Oo _ooh_ , don't mind if I do!" A hand reached in and grabbed as many as physically possible, the crinkling of plastic wrappers being undone filling the quiet room. Stuffing random pieces of candy into her mouth until her cheeks bulged, the hand's owner moaned as she chewed the sweet conglomeration.

Mr. Candle raised both of his eyebrows, then shrugged. "Well, looks like you're good for the rest of lunch." Clasping his hands together in front of him, he looked at Seraph, who was sitting in front of him with a surprised look on her face as she discovered how well caramel sticks to teeth. "So, how did your first couple of days at school go?"

"Muhnmphff-" Screwing up her eyes, Seraph paused to swallow, then continued to speak even though there were still a few pieces of candy in her mouth. "I mean, school's been going great, though History's a bit confusing, and I even have a couple of friends already! Janna knows _so_ much about dad, and Brittney even called me a 'freaky weirdo!" she said proudly.

Mr. Candle's face briefly contorted into a frown for a second, then quickly snapped back into a strained smile. "Oh...well, that's...nice to hear, though how about you let me know if Brittney calls you that again? I might need to talk to her about something in the future."

"Okay!"

As Seraph nodded cheerfully, he carefully took a sip of his coffee, mentally hoping that Hekapoo would be able to find it within herself to not smite Brittney immediately if she ever caught word of this. The poor girl deserved _that_ bit of kindness at the very least. Setting down his mug, his smile was more earnest this time. "Heard you've become quite the school sensation at the football field today. Care to fill me in on the details?"

Swinging her legs under her chair, Seraph picked up a paper clip from Mr. Candle's desk. "Well, I don't know what everyone's so excited about," she said, inattentively holding up the paper clip to her eye and inspecting it. "Hm, steel." Picking up a few more, she continued to inspect them as she kept speaking. "I just ran a few laps, that's all. I'm not even as fast as mom is."

Mr. Candle hmmed and stayed silent for a few moments, but then spoke up after it became clear that Seraph wouldn't be done with paper clips any time soon. "So, whatcha doing there?" he asked inquisitively as she tossed them lightly into the air, testing their weight.

Nodding at some unseen instruction, Seraph placed both of her palms together, the paper clips in between, and squeezed tightly. Mr. Candle raised his brow curiously as his face started to warm up, a red glow beginning to shine through Seraph's fingers and lighting up the look of concentration on her face, the tip of her tongue poking out of the corner of her lips. "Oh, I'm just making something for dad."

"Huh," he remarked as he covered his eyes with his fingers and squinted, the glow becoming brighter and yellower in color, "you like to make art?"

Seraph separated her hands slightly, a small ball of molten metal hovering between them. Not moving her hands, she flexed her fingers, commanding the ball to reshape itself into the rough shape of a motorcycle, two protrusions extending from its sides. A few sparks fell onto his desk as the figurine traded its bright glow for a cool reflective grey, revealing the image of a certain dragon-cycle. "Yeah, it's really fun!" she said, looking at him with a smile. "It reminds me of working with mom in the forge, and Abuelo's even going to teach me about painting and sculpting this weekend!"

Blinking the spots from his eyes, Mr. Candle peered at the small statue as it floated down onto his desk in front of him. Though he wasn't an expert in either dragon-cycle physiology or artistry, and some of the proportions were ever so slightly off in several places, it was still impressively detailed for such a small piece of art. "Ah, so a family interest then? They must be pretty proud of you, teaching you about all those different styles."

Seraph's eyes widened slightly, blinked, then eased their way down to the dragon-cycle figurine. Picking it up with her hands, she sank back in her chair, bringing it closer to her face. "Yeah," she said, "I guess they are."

0000

Omake: After School

Two girls stood on the sidewalk, one in a cheerleader outfit, and the other with a green beanie on her head. "If you want to see it, pay up first."

The cheerleader groaned loudly before taking out a crisp twenty dollar bill and handing it to the other girl. She huffed, showing her displeasure at the action. "I better be getting my money's worth."

Tucking the bill into a bulging pocket, Janna took out her cellphone, happy to pull another fast one on Brittney with her patented 'specialty discounts.'

Brittney studied the picture of Hekapoo, sitting on a couch next to Marco, with a pair of narrow eyes. "She's kinda okay-looking I guess, though notas pretty as me, _obviously_." She sniffed disinterestedly, raising her nose high in the air.

"So, what'd you think?" Janna asked, her hands itching to count her gains for the day.

"Humph, " Brittney said, whipping her hair behind her. "Can't you tell? I was already done several minutes ago."

Janna just shrugged as the cheerleader strutted off with her head held high. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a fat stack of bills and licked her finger. "Twenty...forty...sixty-"

"Janna." Marco's voice came from behind her, and, as she slowly glanced backwards, so did a disapproving stare.

Unphased, she tied up the stack with a rubber band and turned around, not even bothering to hide it. "Hey Marco," she said, coyly waving the stack of bills at him with a smirk, "want to help me count this money?"

He stared flatly at her. "...Really?"

Janna shrugged and put the bills back in her pocket. "Eh, got to make a living somehow."

"By selling personal information? _My_ personal information?" Marco crossed his arms.

Janna held up her hands defensively. "Hey, gotta give the people what they want. Not my fault they want those pictures." She then placed an arm around Marco, who looked at her hand and then back to her with a distrusting expression. "Besides, you're like a celebrity now, isn't that something to be proud of?"

Marco sputtered. "P- _proud?!_ "

"I know, right?" she said cheerily, almost as if Marco wasn't burning a hole through her head with his eyes. Janna then shifted her eyes from side to side conspiratorily, as though she was about to tell him a grand secret. "You know, I'm actually quite impressed with you Marco. You spent so long just nodding at Jackie and playing it safe, I was starting to think you'd _never_ be able to put the moves on anyone. But then you actually _got it on_ , with someone other than Jackie no less!"

A wild look appeared in her eyes, one that was starting to make Marco feel like he _really_ should've run when he had the chance. "You! Mar! Co! Diaz!" Each word was punctuated with a finger poking into his chest and a way-too-enthusiastic grin, which was already uncomfortable to deal with, but then, she laughed and gave him a half-lidded stare. "The resident safe kid-or, should I say, _bad boy._ Making girls swoon and me some serious moolah."

"…" Marco could only stare at her, unsure how or even _if_ he should respond.

Janna slapped him on the back and out of his silence, nearly causing his reflexes to flare up and flip her over his shoulder. "Come on, it's time to celebrate!" She waved her stack of bills in front of him. "I'm taking you and your daughter out to get something to eat! The school's paying for it, not me!"

His eye twitched. _What did I even get myself into?_ Marco thought, right before he got dragged away by his hand.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the school, Jackie rested her forehead on the door of her locker, the coolness of the metal helping to ease her mind. After yesterday afternoon, she'd thought that getting back on track with life would've become easier, but it was beginning to feel hard for her to feel optimistic after people still kept going quiet and try to hide their stares whenever they saw her.

Ignoring them had been easier to do yesterday by keeping herself occupied with thinking about what she'd talk about with Marco, but now, there was nothing else left to distract herself with. And, as her past experiences with the school rumor mill told her, she wasn't going to be free of that reaction for a _long_ time. Being popular sure did have its drawbacks sometimes.

Pulling her head away with a deep breath, she reached up for the lock on her door. With a few twists, it became undone and the locker swung open. She made to grab her books inside, but then a voice interrupted her. "Excuse me, are you Jackie Lynn Thomas?"

Jackie internally sighed as she reluctantly turned around, expecting to see another person who wanted to pry into what was going on between Marco and Hekapoo. However, to her surprise, she was greeted by the face of their _daughter_ -thinking about it still made her feel strange inside-looking at her with a wide-eyed expression.

"Uh...yeah," she said, slowly putting on a confused smile. "Do you need something?"

"Well, earlier today Star told me my dad used to really like you," Seraph said innocently as Jackie's smile dropped, "and I wanted to meet you! I figured, if my dad liked you that you must be an amazing person." She stuck out her hand expectantly to Jackie, who didn't reciprocate the gesture. "My name's Seraph Celosia Dia-"

"I know," Jackie cut her off shortly. "I was there when you came to Earth a few days ago."

"Oh!" Seraph said excitedly. "Then would you like to be friends with me?"

"Huh?" Jackie blinked, then her expression lightened. Well, that is, it _tried_ to lighten itself as much as possible. "...I guess I can try-"

"Hey Seraph!" Janna called out, dragging a still stunned Marco behind her. "We've got places to go!"

At hearing Janna's words, Marco snapped himself out of his trance and pulled his wrist out of her grasp. Shaking his hand for a bit, he looked up to see two familiar faces, glad to see them. "Hi Jackie! You've been talking to Seraph?"

Jackie gave him a small smile, though it felt a bit forced for her to do. "Yeah, I have. She's a...nice kid."

"We were making friends!" Seraph exclaimed, grabbing Jackie's hand and bouncing up and down.

Marco's face brightened in response. "Really? That's nice to hear."

"We were about to get something to eat," Janna said as Marco groaned but didn't say anything else, figuring it would be useless to try and correct her. "You wanna come Seraph? My treat."

Seraph gasped. "I wanna come, I wanna come!" She then looked to Marco expectantly. "Dad, can Jackie come along too?"

"Sure," Marco said, "the more the merrier."

"Besides," Janna stated, "the school's paying for it, so you can get whatever you want."

As the group started walking off, Marco turned to Seraph, a questioning look in his eyes. "So Seraph, can you tell me what Hekapoo taught you about math and physics? I think we might be able to skip you a few classes if you can take a few tests for Miss Skullnick."

"Oh, really? Well, mom said that I didn't really need to learn about fractal topics yet, so she started me off with calculus instead of…"

Meanwhile, as Seraph continued to gush on about her mother, with Marco commenting on how well of a job Hekapoo did every once in a while, no one noticed Jackie lagging behind silently, an uncomfortable feeling rising within her at every mention of _her_.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hello new readers and old alike. I hope you guys have all been enjoying this story me and my beta have worked hard to make it as good as possible. Lot of stuff is brewing, next arc is what I'm calling the Battle Nexus Tournament. Probably one of the longer arcs I've planned and I hope you guys like. Leave a review telling us what you think.**

 **Also it seems someone has made a TvTropes page for us, go check it out.**

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 **Beta Notes: Yeah, I don't have much else to say other than things _will_ be picking up next chapter, and don't forget to show your support for this story on our TvTropes page. It could really use some love right now.**


	5. Chapter 5: Let's Get Ready to Rumble

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

 **Special Thanks to my beta IdeaGenerator, ZuskatoR3D X, Dobokdude,betabryant, Void115**

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Chapter 05: Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

As the sun started to descend over the horizon, the sound of laughter erupted from the Diaz living room, where a pile of candy and snacks was currently taking over the coffee table. Spread across the couch like a cat in mid-stretch, Hekapoo lazily reached out to the pile as she recounted the events of her work.

"So what happened next, mom?" Seraph asked, eyes shining eagerly.

"Well, Prince 'Veggiehead' thought he was 'too good for paying' and that he had what it takes, so I let the bozo pick his own challenge. Fat lot of good that did for him," Hekapoo said dismissively, popping a caramel into her mouth with a short chuckle. "Didn't even last a few hours before I had to fish him out of a bog and send him back home. He went crying to his mommy about how his cape was 'completely ruined, an utter travesty,' she said dramatically, mockingly raising her hand to her brow.

"Really? That quickly? I thought he would've lasted half a day at the very least," Marco said, nibbling on a caramel as he shook his head in amusement.

On this late Friday night, Hekapoo had dropped by for a visit after a long day of work. Almost a week had passed since Seraph's arrival, Hekapoo was pleased to no end to hear how well she had been doing. She had been worried that, with how little social interaction Seraph had gotten back home, her little girl would have had trouble fitting in or get bullied, but it eased her heart that this wasn't the case. And now, after several full days, both relative and not, of work, it was nice to finally relax with her daughter and Marco.

Plus, the snacks were a nice bonus.

With Quest Buy's rather complex and often annoying return policies, it had been a hassle for the household to grind away at the massive mound of munchies, and after a few short reminders of why letting Star near too much sugar was a bad idea, everyone agreed it would be best to try and give the bulk of the snacks away. However, Marco still made sure to keep at least a few candies for Hekapoo. After all, Seraph's sweet tooth had to come from somewhere.

"Besides that, nothing really new has happened." Hekapoo shrugged nonchalantly and let out a tired yawn. "Just been monitoring interdimensional rifts activities and helping with the Battle Nexus Tournament again. You know, the usual."

Marco blinked at her. "Wait. The Battle NexusTournament? What's that?"

"Yeah mom, what _is_ that?" Seraph sat up curiously, candy wrappers crinkling in her lap.

"Huh? I thought I...Oh, _right_ , never really got around to telling you. Well, anyways, the BNT is this competition where fighters from all over the multiverse come together every ten years to duke it out to see who's the best. I personally don't really get why watching people punching each other in the face is so popular, but hey, _someone's_ gotta keep a nexus point from collapsing in on itself."

"Hm…" Rubbing his chin silently, Marco furrowed his brow, not looking anywhere in particular. "So, how does the tournament work? Is there a bracket system or something?"

"Eh, it's more of a free for all thing at the start, then there's a whole lotta matchups after-wait a minute." Hekapoo paused, her eyes focused on the contemplative look on Marco's face as she sat up slowly. A few seconds of silence passed by as her eyes narrowed, Marco still stuck in his trance.

"Huh? Is something wrong mom?" Seraph asked curiously, breaking Marco out of his thoughts.

Hekapoo was silent as she continued to squint at Marco, who only shifted his eyes between her and Seraph in confusion. "...Sweetie, please excuse me and your father for a bit. I think we might need to talk about something."

"Uh, Hekapoo, what are you talking abouAAGH-"

A sudden rush of air swept through the living room, taking Marco by the hand up the stairs as Seraph found herself alone. She looked towards the stairs as a red blur sped up them. After no sign of the two coming back down anytime soon, she slowly turned back at the pile of candy keeping her company with a small smile.

Meanwhile, Marco stumbled unceremoniously for a second after being dropped off in the middle of a hallway, but he quickly regained his footing to face a frowning Hekapoo, tapping her foot in front of him. "You better not be thinking what I think you're thinking, 'cause if you are, you better stop thinking that right now."

Tentatively holding his hands in front of him, Marco wondered how much she knew. "Hekapoo, I…I don't know what you mean."

Hekapoo's fingers pinched the bridge of her nose, a deep sigh escaping her lips. "I'd recognize that look on your face anywhere," she said, looking him straight in the eye. "You always used to get it whenever you got one of your 'ideas'."

Scrunching up his eyebrows, Marco tried to put on an air of confusion. "...Wait, you think I want to enter that tournament you were talking about?"

All he got was a flat stare in return. "I _know_ you want to enter-and I would have been totally fine with that, I really would-but Marco," she said, concern leaking into her voice, "I can't let you go out there. Not now."

"Hekapoo," Marco tried to interject, "I-"

"Marco, I _won't_ be able to come and help you if you get into trouble. I can't without the chance of an intra-nexus civil war breaking out!" Hekapoo's hair billowed out behind her as she paced back and forth, frustration etched into her face. "There's no telling how those stupid nobles would react if I interfered with the tournament in such a way, and that poor kid already has enough with maintaining the nexus on his plate," she muttered.

"Who are you talking about Hekapoo? Is someone in trouble?" His plans momentarily forgotten, Marco reached out his hand to her in an attempt to comfort her, but she just spun towards him instead.

" _You_ will be if you enter the BNT Marco! You don't have your 30 year old body or me to help you anymore! I might have no choice but to stand by and watch you _die_ , and there's nothing I would be able to do without causing a war!" Hekapoo paused and closed her eyes tight. She took a slow breath and gave him a quiet look. "Seraph, _our_ daughter, needs you there for her."

"That's who I'm doing it for." Marco replied.

Hekapoo got surprised by his answer, her frown replaced by a confused by a expression.

Marco looked at his hands, still unused to how smooth they felt, "Sometimes, I move in weird ways... ways my body isn't used to. I'm getting used to it, but it's not enough. I think trying to enter this tournament might help me get back into fighting shape."

"You won't be getting into anything other than a _coffin_ if you die in that tournament, Marco. There are infinite ways to train if you want to, so why a battle royale?" Hekapoo asked impatiently, the tapping of her foot increasing tempo.

Marco frowned a bit and let out a tired sigh. "There is only so much I can achieve on Earth. There may be gyms to work out and I may have my Sensei to improve with basic karate, but they can only do so much. The multiverse is full of amazing experiences and other things that could help me improve, but being so vast as it is, it'd take forever to find something of help. This tournament is going to attract people from all over the multiverse for a good fight. This is the perfect opportunity and I don't want it to pass by."

He walked towards the edge of the stairs and looked down to the living room, to where Seraph was sneaking in a few extra sweets, Hekapoo still glaring at him. "Sometimes, there are monsters that show up looking for trouble and I fight them off. I'm not failing at that by any means, but the constant reminder that I can do so much more keeps makes me want to go further. This could give me a chance to figure out the extent of my skills right now. An opportunity to fix anything I'm doing wrong."

Marco took a deep breath and turned to Hekapoo, "I see what you're saying, but I'm not bent on winning or anything. I just want to see how well I can do. If things go south, I'll just drop the tournament, no big deal." He smiled softly at the redhead, who was no longer glaring him.

"Plus it would be nice to be able to do something cool for Seraph. She knows all these stories about me doing awesome things during your trial, but aside from the occasional monster fight, she has barely seen anything. I want to show her what I'm capable of even I'm not like how I was in the stories anymore." Marco sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "I really want to do this for her. I'm not saying this is gonna be easy, but this is a much better opportunity than many others which are actual combat to train and show her something cool. "

"...There's no changing your mind, is there? Still as determined as ever." Hekapoo let out a sigh, "I know better than to try and talk you out of something once you've got your mind on it." She turned her gaze towards Marco, a small smile forming in her face. "...I guess it'd be safe enough. There are rules to keep the contestants from maiming each other, and nobody is really allowed to kill anyone. Plus, you seem to have your head in the right place after all. I'll go sign you up and get you the rulebook, it starts in…" Hekapoo quickly did the calculations for the time dilation across the dimensions involved. "...About week, so get yourself ready." She then looked up, giving him a determined stare. "But you better promise me you'll keep yourself safe and stop when it gets too dangerous, okay?"

"I promise." Marco swore to her, her smile now much softer.

They both made their way back down stairs as Seraph tried to hide the wrappers of her purloined goodies.

Hekapoo smiled at her daughter, "We've settled everything, sweetie." Hekapoo focused on their daughter. "So, it looks like your dad is gonna enter the tournament."

Excited, Marco smiled. "Thanks, Hekapoo." Marco grabbed a chocolate pocky, starting to nibble on it to celebrate this small step towards bettering himself.

They both pulled back, Hekapoo finishing up the snack, "So, I'll go get started on everything. You should start training."

"Right." Marco fidgeted.

Hekapoo kissed Seraph on the cheek, "Goodbye, I'll see you soon sweetie."

"Goodbye, mom."

Hekapoo grabbed a few random snacks on the table before opening a portal and stepping into it.

"Hekapoo," Marco stopped her, "Thank you, thank you for trusting me and helping me do this."

Hekapoo just shook her head, "Well, if you're gonna do something like this I better keep my eyes on you to make sure you do it right, 'dum-dum'." She quickly booped his nose, "So, don't let me down, get in fighting shape."

"Weren't we over this?" Marco yelled flustered.

"Oh, you know you love it."

The moment between them ended with the joyful giggling of their daughter, she was delighted by seeing her parents together like that.

"Well, I better go. Love you, sweetie. I'll see you soon." Hekapoo walked into the portal which closed behind her.

Then Seraph gave Marco a sly smile that reminded him so much one of Hekapoo's.

"Okay." He clapped his hands together. "You want to go for a ride on Nachos? I've got the perfect place in mind..."

0000

Early in the morning of the next day, they were settled into a parking spot right in front of the dojo.

Marco removed his helmet as he unmounted Nachos. Seraph following suit, luckily one of the various random items she picked up at Quest Buy included a helmet with holes for her horns.

Honestly, some of those safety kid aspects were amplified when he found out he was a dad, he wouldn't allow Seraph to ride Nachos now without a helmet.

Marco took a bit of jerky from his pockets and feed it to Nachos. "Okay boo-boo, stay here and wait for us. Don't go running off chasing pigeons again."

Nachos gave him an affirmative nod as she nibbled the jerky. Seraph gave her a friendly pat on the head.

They headed into the dojo Sensei quickly waved them over. "Hey, Marco! Hey… I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name last weekend."

"Seraph."

"Hey Seraph,"

"Hey," She replied delightedly.

"Sensei I need to talk to you about something," Marco told him.

Sensei had actually been surprised by Marco's arrival, Marco hadn't exactly been focused on his training as of late and with having a daughter suddenly Sensei thought that would be the last nail in the coffin for his karate training. Sensei hated the idea of losing his best student and his friend but he understood. And with everything that happened maybe it was time for Marco to find a new master to learn from.

Sensei told the students he had in the dojo to practice their forms while he talked to Marco. Seraph watched the students practice while Marco explained the situation to Sensei.

"So, you want me to retrain you in a week so that you can fight in some sort of extra-dimensional fighting tournament against the multiverse greatest warriors?"

"Yes."

"Okay, that sounds awesome!" Sensei shouted eager to a part of this in any way. "But are you sure you want to train with me? I mean, you were on a crazy adventure for like 16 years, I thought you'd pick up stuff from other teachers. Like, you'd move on from me."

Marco looked away for a moment before sighing, "Yeah, I did have a lot of teachers during those 16 years, I learned a lot of stuff, I even learned from Hekapoo… but," Marco looked at his teacher, "Everything has been off since I got back, everything has been weird. I think I need to retrain and kinda start over from scratch. I can't think of a better person to restart with than my first teacher."

Sensei found a smile spreading across his face, "Okay, if we got any chance to get you into fighting shape we are going to have to train every chance we get. Before school, after school, late into the night. If we are going to do this you are going to have to commit."

"Count me ready!" Marco shouted eagerly, a new flame lit within him.

"Ugh, what are you doing here, Marco?" Now that was a voice he hadn't heard since...

"Jeremy."

"Marco's training for a tournament," Sensei told him.

"A tournament? I want in too. If someone with a red belt can enter it then I'm sure to win it."

"You gotta sign up in another dimension, so good luck with that." Marco told him flatly, looking the opposite direction. He was barely acknowledging the 8 year old millionaire.

"Ugh, come on! Really?" Jeremy let out. "Mom won't let me go that far. Why do _you_ get to do all the cool stuff now?" He narrowed his eyes. "Did your girlfriend?"

"Me and Hekapoo aren't really dating… it's a pretty complicated."

"Hekapoo?! I was talking about that blonde girl who's always around you."

"Do you mean...Star?"

"And who's Hekapoo? Sound like someone who's perfect for a loser like you."

Marco put up with a lot from Jeremy but he wasn't gonna stand him talking badly about Hekapoo.

But he didn't get a chance Seraph quickly picked Jeremy up by the collar baring her fangs and her fist started to ignite. "Don't ever speak about my parents like that again."

The anger was dripping off her words and flickers of flames could be seen in her eyes.

Struggling against her grip, Jeremy's legs flailed in the air. "Hey! Let go of me you...you…" His eyes widened, his heart starting to race. Going limp in Seraph's hands, he looked deep into her eyes. Nothing filled his mind but the visage of beauty before him. "Who are you?" he asked dreamily.

Unnerved by the strange look on his face, Seraph let go of Jeremy, who only continued to stare at her dumbstruck. "Uh, Dad?" she asked, feeling rather uncomfortable at the moment.

Stepping in front of Jeremy and interrupting his trance, Marco dryly said, "If you want to know, her name is Seraph, and she's related to me." The corner of his mouth twitched and a calculating glint shone in his eyes, but Jeremy barely noticed, blinking and shaking his head clear.

As his jaw dropped, Jeremy looked at Marco and then at Seraph in disbelief. "You're _related_ to that dweeb?" he sputtered. "Bu-b-but how?"

"Well, he _is_ my dad," Seraph said confidently, though she was still unsure what to think of the kid.

In a single moment, Jeremy's face cycled from confusion to realization, then to horror, and finally denial. "...I...uh…I think I need to sit down and think about a few...things," he murmured dazedly. As he walked off the training mats to his butler, he kept glancing back to Seraph every few seconds.

"I don't like him Dad, he's a little creepy," Seraph said.

Marco put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to worry about him. He's harmless. Besides, I don't think he'll be bothering us for a while."

 _And he'll think twice before trying_ anything _with my little girl,_ he thought.

0000

Marco had been practicing his forms for about an hour with Sensei's instructions trying to fix any errors in his movements.

Seraph had been sitting on the sidelines watching. Marco had brought her to properly introduce her to Sensei. That and he was afraid of leaving her with all those snacks alone, she's had several sugar crashes since she moved in. His parents were out and Star was doing something with Pony Head so no one was there to keep her from gobbling up the sugary sweets.

Marco was starting to finish up.

Sensei noted, "Hm, it would be really good to find someone for you to spar with."

Seraph jumped up hearing that. "Can I join? This stuff looks cool and I want to try it out!"

Marco turned around and looked at her beaming, her excitement evident. He felt pride welling up inside him, tears of joy filling his eyes. "I love you." Marco couldn't help but hug her.

"Aw, I love you too dad."

Sensei teared up too, "I'm gonna be a grand-sensei." He hugged them too.

They got Seraph a training outfit, Seraph put on the new Gi tying a white belt around herself.

Marco was just barely holding his glee, looking at his daughter with pride at seeing her wearing a Gi. He took some pictures of her with his phone and and sent them to his own parents, feeling a better understanding of his parents whenever they took a bunch of pictures of him.

"Okay, I guess we should start." Sensei told them.

Seraph watched closely at first, then practiced some basic movements with Sensei and Marco's guidance. Marco was actually enjoying teaching her, as it helped him with his practice and there was something surprisingly satisfying about teaching his own kid something he was good at.

"Okay, that was good. Now try it a little faster. Also, bend down a little and move your feet apart, it will help lower your center of gravity and make it harder to knock down." Marco advised, showing her the correct posture.

Seraph corrected her stance and tried again.

She chopped at the air, slowly increasing her speed. With her natural athleticism she quickly started to cut through the air faster than Sensei thought was possible. Seraph imagined herself in battle, attacking her enemies and striking them down, almost not realizing her fist caught on fire during the training.

Caught by surprise Marco let himself fall backwards, barely avoiding being burnt by a punch.

"The flames might have been a bit much." Marco gulped.

Seraph focused on her surroundings, surprised to not have noticed her fiery fist. She shook it off and smiled sheepishly. "Oh sorry. That just happens sometimes when I get worked up."

Marco shouldn't have been so surprised. She was Hekapoo's daughter and he had seen her use pyromancy before.

"That is awesome!" Sensei approved. "What do you call that move?"

"I'm not sure." Seraph told him honestly, "I never thought up a name."

"Oh," Sensei pondered it for a moment. "How about fire punch? No! Fire Fist!"

"I like that!" Seraph smiled gleefully.

"What else can you do with your fire powers?" Sensei asked.

Seraph held out her hand and a with a snap of her fingers a ball of flames formed in her palm. " This is about it and it takes work. If I try to make it much bigger it can get out of control and scorch things like my mom's rug. My mom showed me how to use heat to shape metals too, though I _really_ have to concentrate to do that." Concentrating, she held out her other hand and the flame snaked its way to in between them. "And if I try I can shoot the fireball at things, got to be careful when I do. I set fire to a tree before like that while shooting at rocks."

Marco from his position on the floor rubbed his chin. He supposed that Hekapoo didn't have a chance to go over the finer details of her powers with their daughter. In just a month she had to go over social normal and how to speak so something had to be left behind.

Marco did want to continue to train but he knew this meant that Seraph herself needed help too. Marco wondered what he could do, Hekapoo would likely be busy so his mind went to the other flame user he knew.

0000

Tom was a little surprised that a portal formed in his room but it didn't stop him from playing his video game.

Marco quickly stepped out and greeted Tom. "Hey."

"Hey." The demon greeted back keeping his eyes on the screen.

"Tom, I need some help."

"I'm sure you do, but I can't make miracles happen and your love life scares me."

"What? No! Seraph is having some problems learning to use her fire powers. Since you have fire powers too I was hoping you'd have some advice."

Tom looked askew at Marco for a moment, pursing his lips in thought, then he paused his game and got up. Stretching the kinks out of his back, he walked over to a nearby bookshelf. "...Hm, I _know_ I have it here somewhere," he said in concentration, thumbing through the titles. "Ah, there it is!" He picked up a book and tossed it to Marco, who deftly caught it and was immediately thrown off guard by the garishly pastel cover.

The otherworldly bright colors caused a few tears to well up in his eyes. He had to squint just to make out the title. "A Little Fire Starter's Guide to Your Fire and You?" He raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"

"It's a book. What else do you think it is?" At Marco's unamused stare, Tom chuckled. "I'm just kidding. It's a guidebook to help kids learn how to control their fire powers. My parents got it for me just in case I had any troubles with my pyromancy growing up, but since I inherited more from mom than dad expected, I never really needed it," Tom explained. "You can have it, though just promise me you might help me with a small favor in the future and we'll call it even. Oh, and for the record, those marks on the back _aren't_ scorch marks, okay? I accidentally dropped it in some of mom's tears a while ago."

"... _Okaaay?_ " Marco drawled. He looked suspiciously at the demon for a moment, then he rolled his eyes, diverting his attention to a more important task. Flipping open the book, he was thankful for the much more normal and toned down colors within. Though many of the pages were just full of meditational techniques and exercises- _'never really needed it my butt'_ he inwardly noted-others sounded rather promising for Seraph's development from what he could tell. His head filling with teaching plans and page numbers, Marco stayed glued to the book, faintly muttering to himself

"...I'm guessing you like the book, right?" Tom said hesitatingly. He awkwardly scratched his head in silence, inaudible murmurs being his only response. "So, uh, you're welcome?"

Marco waved dismissively back at him, still absorbed in his reading. "Yeah, yeah." Fluidly, he drew his scissors and snipped at the air. Offhandedly throwing out a mumbled 'thanks' and stepping through the portal, he missed hearing Tom's sigh of relief.

"Whew, thank goodness." Wiping his brow, he smiled and sat back in his chair and started his game back up.

Normally, Tom would have given away the book for free anyways-he'd forgotten how much it hurt his third eye to look at it, and he didn't mind who he gave it to, especially if it was for a friend-but this was one opportunity he simply could _not_ pass up. Though he still wasn't quite sure what exactly Marco's relationship with Lady Hekapoo was or what to make of the fact that they had a _daughter_ -the idea of one of the Magical High Commission actually having one kept throwing him for a loop at times-it would be a _very_ good idea to have some protection if she ever found out about those curses he once had on Marco.

So far, he had been able to erase any trace of most of them the night of Seraph's arrival, but now, he could only hope that she would not notice the more irremovable curses or that they had already been set off during Marco's trial. He had no aspirations of ever facing her legendary wrath, and he hoped that enough of his friend still remained in the new, current, and still sometimes unfamiliar Marco to bail him out of such a situation. In addition, it was a start in getting in Seraph's and both of her parents' good graces.

That, and-if he was going to be honest with himself-it would be nice to have an extra player help him finally beat _the_ infamous Level 13 of _Request 99_ if he was really just worrying about nothing in the end _._

Demons _are_ tricky little devils, after all. And they definitely never, _ever_ would admit that they could relate to having trouble controlling their fire powers, or that they once intentionally set a book on fire, _especially_ to a close friend.

0000

The next day they took a moment from their usual training to read the book.

Sensei place some candles before Seraph as she sat on the floor.

Sensei and Marco sat next to her. Marco looked through the book, "Okay, so we will try this."

"You want me to try lighting the candles without touching them?" Seraph stared at the candles.

"Yeah, according to this books it's a matter of focusing. " Looked over the pages, "The book says that your power basically works by letting you create heat and ignite the air. The reason you make flames around you is that it just less effort to ignite the air around you. By working on projecting the heat it lets you work on control and focus it. That's probably going to be handy to keep your clothes from catching on fire."

"That would be nice, I do like my new jacket."

"So for today, we're just going to try a little meditation and focusing exercises."

"And this is a part of learning to fight?" Seraph questioned.

"Yeah!" Sensei told her. "You need a clear mind, not only to know when to fight but also to know how to fight, to see where your opponent's attacks coming from and when and how to take a hit."

They sat there meditating for a good while, Seraph focusing on the candle before her attempting to force heat into the wick. Her frustration growing with the lack of visible results, she pointed a finger at the wick as a vein started to bulge on her forehead.

With the candle unlit, almost as if mocking her, she let out a heavy sigh as her shoulder slumped down.

Marco placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder sensing her distress, "Don't worry," Marco said his voice soft, "It's okay if you don't get results right away. These things take time and practice, I didn't get good at karate right away, it took me years to work my way to a red belt. So don't stress yourself and relax, we have all the time to work on this."

Seraph smiled as it felt a pressure lifted from her. She turned to the candle and focused in on it taking a breath.

A small puff rang out as the pair looked at the suddenly lit candle. There was a small flame but it was there.

"Ha!" They cheered before embracing each other in a hug.

"Huh?" Sensei looked around confused, having fallen asleep twenty minutes ago.

0000

They moved onto something else Marco stood on a bucket and put on a blindfold.

Sensei brought over a large basket filled with rubber balls.

Seraph grabbed the ball and gave it a good squeeze. "So, you want me to throw this at my dad?"

"Yeah," Sensei picked up a ball. "The idea is to get his reflexes to react faster even when he's can't see everything. To start picking up on the space around him, on things like sounds and smell. Just to react even when he can't see something coming. He'll get whacked a few times but eventually just start blocking the balls before they get to him."

Seraph nodded understanding.

"Okay, dad taking my first shot."

"Good ahead," Marco got ready to try and block a hit.

Seraph threw the ball and it sped past Marco's head and with a loud bang the ball embedded itself into the wall behind him.

Marco's voice cracked, "Ah, maybe don't throw so hard."

Marco was pretty lucky that her throwing aim wasn't that great.

0000

The following morning they had woken up early to continue their training in Marco's room.

"Thirty nine! Forty! Forty one!..." Marco was doing push ups while Seraph sat on his back.

Marco missed some of the physical attributes he used to have in the other dimension, his older self would have not problem doing this, he'd actually been in the hundreds already.

"…that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," Seraph read out loud from her textbook.

Seraph was smart and could pick up things but she still needed to work. With things like history she had to catch up on world history that everyone else already knew, she was good at memorizing stuff but she still had to read a lot of books.

Whenever she had a chance she would be trying to read one of many books she had to catch up on.

Marco knew she was putting in a lot of work and she wasn't exactly enjoying it but she was trying. If she was putting this much effort than he didn't want to slack off either. He wanted to put a good example for Seraph and to make her proud.

"Fifty one! Fifty two! Fifty three..."

0000

Marco felt satisfied, despite being somewhat sore from training. He was able to go through the motions better than before, his muscle memory becoming more in tune with his body once again. The morning had been passing by well enough, though with the ever approaching deadline for entering, Marco was feeling pumped, ready to go any minute.

"Let me get you a towel." Sensei offered, noting how much his student was sweating. "You looked drenche-"

The distinctive sound of reality ripping open interrupted him as an orange portal formed next to them. Seraph leapt in joy at the sight. "Mom!" Seraph quickly moved to give her a hug.

"Hi sweetie," Hekapoo gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Marco was happy to see her but wondered, "Why are you here?"

Hekapoo smirked, "Star told me you were here training, I brought the rule book like I said I would." Hekapoo tossed it to Marco. "Yeah, sorry. Meant to bring it in earlier but Rhombulus kept pestering me about another one of those 'gut feelings' again."

"Thanks." Marco began to look the guide over.

"So, how's training going? It looks like someone else has been doing some training too." Hekapoo smiled noting her daughter in a gi like her father's.

"Yeah, I saw dad training and I decided to try it out too," Seraph said a bit sheepish.

"Really?" Hekapoo gave her daughter a playful boop and an encouraging smile.

"Oh! Dad's been helping me out with karate and everything and we figured out something."

There were still a bunch of candles around the dojo.

"Look!" Look!" Seraph looked at the candle and focused. She raised her hand and pointed a finger. "Pew!" The candle quickly lit up. Seraph quickly picked a new target again. "Pew!" Another candle lit up. "Pew! Pew! Pew!" Three more candles lit up. "Look!"

Sensei slid a fire extinguisher away with his foot. Over the last few days, they had been working with her, focusing her power...and her aim. The scorch marks he spent hours scrubbing without any success could attest to that. He knew often kids needed support and let to shine, they needed to feel proud of the victories they had to overcome any failures and to encourage them to continue and so when they came to another failure they could feel confident enough to try.

Plus, the kid wanted to make her mother proud, everyone should get to do that every once in a while.

"That's great!" Hekapoo beamed. "Oh look at you! You're already doing long distance ignition!"

Seraph just scratched the back of her head with a huge grin on her face.

Composing herself, Hekapoo turned to Marco, "So how's your training going?"

Marco looked at Hekapoo, "I think I'm doing pretty good. Considering the short time I've had to train I'll think I'll be ready to fight."

"That's good to hear. Now, have you decided if and what weapons you're going to bring?"

"Wait, we could bring weapons?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention it? In the tournament, people are allowed to use weapons. You just have to get it examined before the tournament." Hekapoo stared at Marco in confusion as he groaned in response. "What's the issue? Aren't you good with a sword?"

"Yeah, back when I had both a sword and the body to use it. And I don't exactly have one to practice one lying around nearby. I left mine at your forge, remember?"

"But what about your scissors?"

"My scissors?" Marco asked, pulling them out of his pocket.

"Yeah, I mean, they don't look like a sword for no reason. Why else would I design them that way?"

Marco looked up at her slack-jawed, the edges of his lips slowing curving up disbelievingly. "My scissors can turn into a sword?"

"It's a special feature I added to yours. Just give it a swing."

As he did so, the pair of scissors suddenly caught on fire and extended. The metal of the scissors contorted and changed around his hand. As the flames died down around him he marveled at the broad sword with a scissors-like hilt. Marco's eyes looked down at the grip and met the guard where Hekapoo's emblem lay. His thumb slowly caressed the symbol gingerly, as if he wasn't sure if it was real.

"I know, I know, it's not exactly a katana and it has a straight blade," Hekapoo said, putting her hands out, "but I couldn't get it to curve without some risking some structural weaknesses."

Marco's fingers glided over the flat of the blade, feeling the smooth perfection of its shape. "I love it!" Marco exclaimed as he took a few practice swings, testing how the weight felt in his hands.

Marco knew that a katana and broadsword were used in different ways, there were different styles of fighting and even if he was used to fighting with his katana he'd need to adjust properly. Still, he was elated, not only did he get a sword but one specially forged for him.

He assumed there was a touch of magic in it, something that made it feel like his own. The handle should have been cold like steel but it felt nice and warm. The grip seemed to conform his hands. It didn't feel heavy since he got back from the trial he'd felt everything was off too heavy or just off but this sword just felt right.

Meanwhile, as Marco tried his new sword, Hekapoo intently studied his form and his movements.

"With all that said however, I'm not sure you're ready for the tournament yet," Hekapoo stated, looking him over. The gears in her head started to calculate the most likely outcomes for thing to go.

"Hekapoo, trust me I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to do anything that is too risky." Marco reassured her. Marco was a bit surprised by her change in attitude but could only assume that it came from worry so he didn't hold it against her.

"Right." Hekapoo pointed a finger at him. "Like you've never done anything without thinking in our time together."

Marco really couldn't argue that, he started to mindlessly to run his hand over the scar that once had over his eye.

"I don't think you have it in you to make it through the tournament." Hekapoo said her tone turning haughty. "Well, not and make it out in one piece. I'm not going to take you just to get beat to a pulp."

"What?" Marco cried out. "But I thought you said you'd take me!"

Hekapoo just spun on her heel casually, though strangely without the presumptuousness one would expect from her words. "Well, I changed my mind. I thought you'd be able to do more and get ready but it looks like I was wrong. You're just in no shape to compete."

"Hekapoo, you know that I can just go myself."

Hekapoo scoffed softly at him. "Oh, really? Okay, tell me where is the Battle Nexus is." She turned her back to him, a small devilish smirk forming on her face, "You've never been there and you don't have any map, so how are you going to get there?"

Marco realized that she was right, without some point of reference even something as simple as a visual of the place or a memory he couldn't use the scissors to take him there.

"I will figure out a way," Marco said determinedly. Though he couldn't figure out why Hekapoo would be acting this way, it was starting to get on his nerves.

Hekapoo sighed. "Yeah, you probably would. Doesn't mean you should though." She moved closer to him, so close that Marco felt the heat of her flame prickle his skin. "Meatwad, you've always had a hard time knowing when to call it quit. Let me give you a hint: this is the time."

"Hekapoo," Marco let a small primal growl escape his lips. His heart beat increased as his hand gripped the sword tighter.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Hekapoo smiled widely as she started to walk around him. Her tone had become playful and carefree, her finger resting lazily on her chin in thought. "Now, maybe you should start training for the next tournament. I mean, ten years is a lot of time to train for a human, but by then who's to say that you won't have a chance at the next one?"

"Hekapoo!" Marco shouted.

Marco let out a hiss as he felt her white hot hand smack his head. Before he could even complain a felt another smack hit him followed by another and then another. He could feel the tinge of his skin starting to burn and the smell of the hair on the back of his head starting to burn off.

Without a thought Marco swatted at her hand, Hekapoo in turn moved to the side and finished the attack. With her next swat on it's way Marco tried again reacting a bit faster and managing to catch her hand. Hekapoo was not to be stopped as she used her free hand to land another blow. Much like his first attempt Marco tried to swat her away but this time with the sword.

Hekapoo pulled her arm away and swirled away from the blade, doing so she delivered a kick right to Marco's chest, not one hard enough to truly hurt him but to force him back. Marco blinked as he tumbled backwards as he realized what just happened.

He stared forwards as he just caught sight of a blur rushing towards him at high speeds, his body began to move on its own and slashed downwards at the blur.

"Hm," Hekapoo mused out loud. She had stopped the blade mid-slash, catching it with her index finger and thumb. "Okay, let's see what we got to work with. Decent force, aim a tad off, reaction time pretty good. Huh, I guess you still got some of your old sword skill ready to bubble out." Hekapoo grinned knowingly, "You even did a half decent attempt at re-adjusting your form for a new sword. Okay," Hekapoo took a step back letting the sword go, "You might have a chance of not getting your tight little rump handed to you. I think I can work with this."

Caught off guard

"So prove it to me. Prove to me you're up to snuff and I'll gladly show you the way to the tournament." Hekapoo took a few steps back releasing the sword. "Unless, of course, you're not, hmm?"

Marco smirked, raising an eyebrow, "Is that another challenge?"

"What if it was?" Hekapoo coyly smiled, taking a step forwards. "Spar with me using that sword and if you can defeat me, I'll take you to the Battle Nexus Tournament." She then glanced up and down at him carefully, taking in the sweat-soaked clothes clinging to his body and the spent energy in the air. "Though it looks like you've been practicing for a while. Why don't you take a short break for a while?"

"So you can have more time to get ready to lose?" Marco said teasingly.

"Nah, it'll just be more satisfying to beat you at a hundred percent than in the state you're in now."

"Is that so?" With a confident grin, Marco stepped closer to her. "Oh you are on!"

The fire in Marco's eyes matched the intensity of Hekapoo's flame as he gripped his sword eagerly. Hekapoo, in turn, simply smirked and smoothed out her dress, crossing her arms assuredly.

"You guys, uh, you do get along, right?" Sensei spoke up nervously. "I mean, you two look really eager to fight each other."

On the other hand, Seraph watched on with excitement. She had heard about her parent's trial and about the many adventures they faced together and now it seemed like she would get a glimpse of it.

Things were about to get exciting.

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 **V0ID notes: Well, I expected a lot of things. Working as a guest proofreader and aiding the development of one of my favorite fanfictions of all time was NOT one of them. I feel very glad to have been part of this and aiding to put this chapter as soon as possible with the best quality it could have. I'm very thankful for the opportunity given to me by ADdude and IdeaGenerator. I hope to have been of help. I'm not entirely sure if I'll be a more "permanent" addition to the team or if it was a one time thing, but regardless, I'm glad I could be part of it. I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

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 **IdeaGenerator: Yeah, sorry about the late chapter. School really picked up for me and I found myself not only not having a lot of time to work on this, but also had a bad case of editor's block for a while. If the level of quality of this chapter feels lower than the ones beforehand, please excuse us as my editor's block hasn't let up very much, but I hope that when Chapter 6 gets released, we'll also be releasing an updated and more polished version of this chapter at the same time, so be on the lookout for that.**

 **Also, I hope that you guys will enjoy what's coming, as though we're going into a slightly more action-oriented section of the story, there's a lot more to the whole tournament than you'd think. So until then, this has been IdeaGenerator, signing off.**

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 **Author's Notes: 'Sup. So long time. Yeah, I've been keeping myself busy will the chapter has been editing. I've got a bunch of future chapter done we just got to edit them now and hopefully that will go faster. Also I have helped video editing a new series called Ship Happens, where we look at ships and dissect them. If you're interested check it out this months is about marco and Janna. Just search manna and ships happens on youtube. Other wise check out tumblr, I posted something there about this chapter, let me know if you saw wise thank you for waiting and please leave a review telling me what you think. Once more thanks to all our guest editors who helped get this out a bit faster.**


	6. Chapter 6: Marco vs Hekapoo

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

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Chapter 06: Marco vs Hekapoo

Marco got home and showered off, ready just in time to have dinner with the family.

As Marco and Seraph sat down for dinner with the rest of the family. They talked about their training session. Ultimately they also talked about Hekapoo's challenge.

Star's reaction was, "Whaaa?! You're gonna fight Hekapoo?"

"Not fight. Spar," Marco corrected. "It's not like we're going to try and hurt each other."

"She's Hekapoo! She'll clobber you, she's super strong and fast!"

"I know." Marco pointed out, "It was one of the main reasons it took me 16 years to catch up to her."

"Are you sure about this?" Star asked him again. "I mean, you could get hurt really easily."

Marco continued to reassure her, "Don't worry, Star. Me and Hekapoo have done this sort of thing before. I trust her to not intentionally hurt me."

Star mumbled into her food, "I'm worried about her unintentionally hurting you."

Star didn't think Hekapoo would try to hurt Marco but people get hurt without trying. Marco broke his arm practicing karate, she turned his arm into a monster, and one time turned his head into a pair flaming butterfly wings… the point was Marco had gotten hurt unintentionally a lot.

Hekapoo was a tough customer and if that happened there he could be seriously hurt.

But it was clear that Marco had his mindset, and he wouldn't get talked out of it. Marco's parents were okay with it, they believed Marco knew what he was talking about and since Sensei would be watching over the fight they thought it should be okay.

0000

After dinner, Marco was fiddling around in his room. He dug through his closet pulling out a small wooden chest. It was a sort of memory chest, something to keep precious things.

He opened it up, it contained random items he'd picked up over his life, little things he never found a proper place for and he just couldn't see himself getting rid off. Among the items there, were a skull mask, a few old letters from some exchanges students, old cards, photos but what stood out for Marco was what was right on top.

He pulled out a black jacket and torn red hoodie. Both had been ripped up a bit, the red hoodie was more than a little bit torn.

"Dad?" Seraph poked her head into Marco's room noticed Marco on the floor with the box.

"Hey Seraph," He smiled wistfully at the clothes.

"Are those the clothes you wore in mom's dimension?"

"Yeah," Marco told her as she sat down beside him. "I don't have much in the way of keepsakes from that time there except this, the scissors, and..." He paused and looked at his daughter, "You of course."

"Obviously I'm the best one."

"Yes, you are."

Marco rifled through the items he had there. Honestly, he had a whole lot of keepsakes but he had kept them in a bag on Nachos. That bag was gone when Nachos arrived on Earth he had to figure that at some point Hekapoo removed the bag. The items in the bag were probably gone or lost.

That's when he noticed a small photo slipped out of his jacket pocket which Seraph quickly picked up.

She was a bit surprised by the photo, it was an exact copy of the picture she had by her bed. This picture was a bit more crumbled but it was the same.

Hekapoo was wearing a stylish yellow dress, one that showed off her figure and really popped against her red hair. She wore a black choker with a small diamond and matching black earrings. She was wearing a bit of makeup most noticeably flaming red lipstick.

She was sitting on a couch in some sort of club and sitting next to her was Marco, an older Marco in his twenties. His hair was messy and with his leather jacket showing off his abs Marco was surely turning some eyes too.

They were cuddled up on the couch together, Marco had an arm around Hekapoo's waist and with his free hand pointed at her. Hekapoo had a hand on his leg and holding a drink with her free hand. It looked like they were celebrating something. Marco seemed a little awkward in the setting but enjoying himself.

 _At the corner of their picture, there was a kiss in the same red lipstick and it was signed,_

' _You sure know how to show a girl a good time.'_

 _XOXO_

 _Hekapoo_

"Mom looks pretty in this picture" Seraph commented right before Marco took the picture back.

Marco started to blush brightly.

"What picture?!" Marco shoved the picture back in his pocket.

Seraph blinked, "The one you put in your pocket just now. By the way, what was wrong with mom's clothes, they all looked really tight and small on her."

Marco blushed, unsure of how to answer that.

"So you and mom look pretty close in the picture." Seraph smiled innocently at her father, "and what did she mean by 'show a girl a good time'?"

Marco gulped, "Ah, well, yeah, you see that was my twenty-first birthday." Sheepishly he scratched the back of his head. "Your mom decided to take me out to celebrate it."

"So… a date?"

"Ah, kinda, I mean, she said… yeah. I guess it was kind of our first date-date."

Seraph smiled at her father. Marco could tell she wanted to dig into her parent's date more, Marco remembered that day particularly well but he was not sure about telling his daughter about his dates. Certainly not _that_ date.

"Ah! Let me show you something else I got in your mom's dimension." He frantically started to dig through his pockets.

"Seamless change of topic dad." Seraph snarked at her father's attempts but relented.

Marco searched his pockets mutter, "Oh, did I lose it again." Marco huffed and just held out his hand. "Fine, I'll just do this." With a flick of the wrist and a flash of light, something began to materialize in his hand. Suddenly in his hand, there was a very large skeleton key all in black and red, it had a large strange hilt decorated to look like a sun, a star and a crescent moon aligned together.

"Woaaah!" Seraph stared dumbfounded, she didn't have a lot of magic experience but she could sense it wafting off the large key. "I didn't know you could do magic dad!"

"I can't, not much anyway, this is about it and it's all because of this," Marco said pushing the ends in and slowly the key began to shrink until it was the size of a normal key.

Seraph continued to stare now not sensing any magic, "What is that?"

Marco scratched his chin, "The oracle called it something… the Cosmicam …huh key… something key."

"Oracle?"

"Oh, yeah," Marco started to tell one of his stories, "I was traveling in your mom's dimension searching for her. I had stumbled onto this Valley at the foot of a mountain that stretched above the clouds."

Seraph leaned in listening to her father's story. She was always eager to hear stories about his adventures.

"In the Valley, there were several towns and villages and all the people lived in peace. But when I showed up they were under attack from shadow like monsters. Many of the monsters managed to take over people, making friends and family fight each other just to survive. The fight was pretty one side with their army growing larger with each person they captured. So seeing that I rushed in to try and help them."

Seraph chuckled to herself, "Yeah, that sounds like something you'd do."

"Well, yeah," Marco chuckled, he adored the look that she gave him it made him feel strong like he could do no wrong. "I had this artifact that I was saving to use against your mom but they needed it more. It exploded with a flash of light and the monsters cowered back into the forest and woods around the village."

"So you won!" Seraph cheered at the victory.

"No, I scared them back but they were still there. They would recover if you gave them time. The people of the village said that atop of the mountain was an oracle with a way to stop these monsters. I volunteered to climb up the mountain. The others prepared to fight off the monsters when they decided to attack again. I rushed through the forest fighting monsters and climbed the mountain as fast as I could."

Seraph's eyes dazzled as she imaged her father fighting in the dark all to save people he didn't even know.

"I spent hours, without stop climbing the mountain as fast as I could. Exhausted I reach the top and there she was waiting for me. She was a tall purple woman with seven eyes, she was known as Jheselbraum the Unswerving. She smiled warmly at me as she poured me out a drink of sands of time. She promised to revitalize me and cure my exhaustion. It was hard to swallow at first but it helped. She knew all sorts of things, she knew why I was there. She knew about my trial, about looking for your mother. She called me your mother's inamorato."

"What does that mean?"

"Not sure, rival I think. She told me how Hekapoo saved that world once and sacrificed something of herself to do so. The oracle said that she owed her greatly because of that, and she helped me gladly because I would one day give Hekapoo a great gift…" Marco's voice trailed off as he looked at Seraph, "Oh…" Marco chuckled a little looking at their beautiful daughter.

"What?"

"Never mind," Marco smiled knowingly, a few of the puzzle pieces fitting in place for him, "she said helping me would help repay Hekapoo. She took me to one of the rooms in her shrine where the Key was stuck into a stone. She told me that the monster came through from another dimension in war. That a hero fought tooth and nail and used their last bit of strength to seal it away in a cave until a recent Earthquake freed it. That key was the hero's weapon. I could use it if the key thought my heart was strong enough. I grabbed it and it felt like it was alive, that it had a heart that beat in time with mine." Marco looked at the key in his hand, "It choose me"

Marco stared at the key grateful for the power it lent him. "She showed me how to use its basic powers. She made a portal for me and I arrived at the village as the attack was under way, the key released a powerful light a freed those capture and destroyed the monsters."

"Cool!" Seraph looked on at her father as he held out the key victorious.

"The next day I had something to do before I could go back to the trial, I climbed the mountain again to talk to Jheselbraum. I wanted to return the key, she told me to keep it that it had chosen me and I couldn't get rid of it." Marco rubbed the outside of the key, "She offered to teach me how to use the key properly but it would take a long time. I was eager to get back to the trial. In the end, she only managed to teach me a few simple powers the key had. Mostly just to shrink it and summon it and to use it to unlock anything with it."

"And you don't use it? Like a weapon I mean?" Seraph wondered.

"Yeah, I really didn't see the point. It doesn't have a sharp edge and I can't sharpen it, its pretty useless as a blade. I could hit people with it maybe block attacks, I guess but I prefer my sword. I can use it to unlock any lock so it's pretty good for when I've lost my keys. The only thing I can get to work is the light and doesn't seem to work on anything that's not a shadow."

Marco held out the key and studied it, "Sometimes I wish I stayed and learned what it could do. Sometimes it feels like it has all this power waiting to be used but I don't know how to use it. Like I'm not using it to its full potential but it stays with me… like it knows something." No matter how many times he misplaced it, all he needed to do would be to silently call for it and it would come. "Like it knows that we have something else do to together. It's waiting for that day to help me and for that I am grateful."

Marco rubbed the key softly wondering what that would be.

0000

The next day after school Marco got ready at the dojo, he fixed up his Gi and started to stretch out.

Seraph practiced on some candles trying to get them to light up.

Star and Janna sat close by, Star fiddling with her wand as Janna got some snacks ready.

Sensei walked over, "So when do you think she's going to show up?"

Marco cracked his neck, " She will be here. She's just not great at remembering times, especially outside her dimension."

A swirling portal formed near then and the fiery girl stepped out. "Sorry, I'm late." She let out a small yawn. "Ready?"

"For you? No, but that hasn't stopped me before." Marco smiled at her making his way over to the mat.

Hekapoo smirked following him along until Sensei stopped her, "Boots off the mat."

Hekapoo paused for a moment, she wasn't used to having humans tell her what to do, for the most part, her interaction with humans were just with Marco. She had come to respect Marco but it felt off to listen to other humans.

She relented and took off her boots and placed them on the side.

"Hm? Soft." Hekapoo said bouncing a little on the cushy mats.

"Yeah, it's to prevent people from getting hurt."

"Ah, now I'm seeing why most of your species is so soft."

"Hey, be nice." Marco scolded. "Our daughter is part human."

"I did say most, not all."

"I guess that is progress for you."

"You see, I'm learning." Hekapoo flashed him a smiled taking out a pair of scissors. With a click, she split the scissors into a pair of daggers.

Marco smirked swinging his pair of scissors and with a flash of flames turned into a sword.

Sensei took a few steps back.

"Here we go!" Janna said picking up a bucket of popcorn and a large soda.

"Kick her butt dad! Show him who's boss mom!" Seraph cheered her parents.

Star chuckled a little, "Come on Marco! You can beat her!"

"Same old rules, then?" Marco fixed his grip on the sword. He tried to remember how he used to hold his sword. He tried to focus on those memories.

"Yeah, we stop when you call it quits." Hekapoo twirled the daggers in her hands. "Or I knock you out."

"Very funny,"

"I know, it's a gift."

Marco gave her a respectful bow and Hekapoo replied with a half a curtsy.

"Begin!" Sensei called out.

Neither Marco or Hekapoo reacted, they were perfectly motionless, Sensei wondered if they had heard him.

Hekapoo smirked, "Do I go first or you go first? I go first?"

"Ladies first,"

"Well, that's mostly just a title in my case."

Janna watched and snacked on popcorn, "Ah, Star, does it seem like they're flirting?"

"Yeah," Star admitted. "This seems very flirty. Flirters!"

A clang broke through the air startling everyone. They looked back to the mat to see one of the dagger's blocked by the sword. Hekapoo bridged the gap between them and struck before anyone noticed.

"A little slower than I expected you to react," Hekapoo mumbled.

"Yeah, me too, I expect you to be faster."

"Oh!" Hekapoo chuckled. "Are we feeling bold? I can be faster."

"Funny, usually you like taking your time."

"You cheeky bastard,"

Star yelled to them, "You have your child here! Go back to trying to stab each other! Wait!"

Either the pair didn't hear the princess or just decided to ignore her, either way, they went back to sparring.

Hekapoo took a leap back, she leveled the dagger at Marco. "Okay, let's take things up a notch."

Without a second's hesitation, Hekapoo sped towards Marco only for Marco to leap pass at the last second. Her own momentum carrying her to the end of the mat, she stopped and turned and tried again. Hekapoo tried it again Marco barely dodged the attack again.

Seraph watched the fight eagerly, she started to see the gap in power between her and her mother. Her mother was far faster and had better control when she tried something like that she barely managed to stop without hurling herself off the mat but Hekapoo stopped without issue. Seraph could see that Hekapoo was slowly increasing her speed.

At the point Marco was just dodging, Hekapoo was now a streak of color shooting towards him.

He wasn't so much even reacting, to dodge it in time he needed to move before she even started to get close to him. He could barely glimpse from which direction Hekapoo was coming from, he was forced to rely on mostly instinct to know when to move. The exercise with the balls was coming in handy.

"Come on Marco!" Hekapoo's voice rang out before Marco dodged. "You know this won't work on me." Marco rolled to the side. "Getting me to fall into a pattern." Marco stepped to the side.

"And exploit that." A streak of yellow became visible before Marco. "I'll change up."

Instead of stabbing like she had been she swung her dagger at him.

Hekapoo expected him to jump back or duck or maybe try to move to the side. Marco went a different course, he ducked and moved forwards.

Hekapoo was sort of right about Marco's plan but he didn't intend to wait for her to start on a pattern and exploit it, he expected her to change it up and take advantage of that.

Marco moved up grabbing Hekapoo's arm and lifting her up. With a spin, he flipped Hekapoo over and onto the mat.

Hekapoo hit the mat back first, all the air pushed out her lungs.

She looked up at Marco as he readied his sword. Hekapoo merely smiled, "Taking it up another notch!"

Almost elegantly she spun up to her feet dagger ready. She launched herself at Marco. Now using both daggers she stabbed at him.

Marco blocked with the sword, every instance he had to adjust its position to block the next blow. The sword was long but it still could only cover so much space. Some of the attacks did make their way through and Marco needed to avoid them while trying to block the next one.

Marco felt one of the strike and slip pass and some of the ends hair cut off.

Normally the fight would be over, if Marco hadn't worked on his reflexes, and it would have been over if the sword had been made by anyone else it.

Still, he knew he couldn't rest, the longer this lasted the more chances until he made a mistake and lost.

Hekapoo was warm, the air around her warmer than the rest of the room. He'd been using that tidbit to help him predict her moves. He took a breath as he felt a prickle of warmth as her hand moved past him. Old memories started to come back to him imploring his body to move.

He took this chance and pressed forwards using the sword to block her other dagger. He pushed her back jumping backwards before she could use her other dagger.

Steadying himself Marco rushed in to start his attack.

Blades met blades as the pair fought. Hekapoo was put on the defensive and forced to parry his strikes. Marco's strikes were fast, hard, and focused forcing her to lose ground.

Mentally Hekapoo applauded Marco it would be his win if he got her off the mat, simple tactic but applied right it could work before the opponent knew what they did to lose.

She wasn't going to let that happen and began to push back.

They circled one another, parrying, blocking dodging, pushing back and forth neither one willing to give the other an inch.

Each move was measured, every blow blocked, each strike deflected and countered.

The longer the fight continued the more the spectators noticed something was off. That Marco and Hekapoo were almost expecting each other's moves, they reacted to each other's moves.

In a way it seemed less of a fight and more of a dance.

Star started to see it, they had done something like this before. As Star watched Hekapoo's yellow dress swirl around her, both of them smiling through the fight Star knew they had done this many times and used to each other's movements as if they were their own.

Marco took a breath as he tried to figure out his next move. He knew if Hekapoo kept speeding up she would soon be at a point he wouldn't be able to counter.

That's when he felt a smack on his back. As he turned around to try and counter he felt another smack on his back.

As the spite fire raced to give him another smack on the back this time intending to start back that bald spot.

Marco rushed at Hekapoo, she turned around blocking it with her dagger. Hekapoo noticed a bit more heft behind this last blow, was he trying harder or had he been holding back this whole time?

It didn't matter anyway, she was holding back with one hand and with the other one she'd finish it. She moved to strike him but so did Marco, he pushed forwards and jumped into a kick.

"Ow!" Hekapoo jumped back with a yelp.

One of her daggers was kicked out of her hand and it slid off the mat.

Hekapoo and Marco stared at each other, they held their weapons tightly and without another breath, they raced to one another. Hekapoo lunged at Marco and Marco swung his sword.

It ended there.

The spectators gasped.

Slowly they saw what happened.

Hekapoo held the dagger's tip at to Marco's jugular and Marco held his sword mid-swing the edge at her neck.

"Ha! Ha!" Both of them fell backward laughing.

"We haven't done that in a while!" Marco laughed.

"Oh, longer for me!" Hekapoo chuckled. "You did pretty well this time. You were a lot more hesitant last time. Not this time, you've gotten better control and you know it."

"I think some muscle memory is still lingering." Marco looked up at the ceiling. "During the fight, I started to feel it. Started to feel all those years swinging the sword, to feel how far I could push it, how much I could control it."

"No better teacher than hands-on experience," Hekapoo smirked to the ceiling.

Marco started to understand, he figured Hekapoo just wanted to put him through the wringer force him to remember all the time he had with the sword.

Marco looked to the side, his fingers tapping on the handle of his sword.

Hekapoo jolted up and snapped her fingers, "Okay, take that shirt off!"

"Nope!"

Marco turned to find Sensei covering Seraph's ears while Star covered her eyes. Janna actually leaned in intently.

Star frantically yelling. "Your daughter is here! We're here!" Her face turning bright red.

"Star you're hurting my eyes!" Seraph said prying Star's hands off her.

A few moment's later they explained what Hekapoo meant. Marco was shirtless sitting on the mat and Hekapoo was sitting behind him.

She rubbed her hands together and slowly fire wrapped around them and with a deep breath, the fire turned blue.

Seraph sat close by her mother.

"Okay, this a bit advance," Hekapoo explained to her daughter. "I don't want you trying until you've got a lot more control over your flames. Ready?" She asked Marco.

"Yeah, just try not to scorch me."

"Well, try not to move." Hekapoo shot back.

Slowly her hands swept over his back, getting close to his skin but making sure that the flames didn't touch his skin.

Marco didn't flinch despite feeling the heat at his back.

Hekapoo's hands moved around some freshly bruised marks on his back.

"What's that? Cupping therapy? Reiki?" Sensei looked on curious.

"I'm not much for a healer. It was always Lekmet's thing, the thing is fire is not the safest thing to use. Yeah, it can warm you, it can light up the dark but it can burn you too. It can burn, roast, and destroy if you give it a chance. You have to be careful. The thing is if you know what you're doing you can do some interesting things and I've had some time to mess around with this."

"So, you know healing fire magic?" Star watched on.

"I wouldn't go that far." Hekapoo corrected. "With practice and control, you can use flames to help. It helps move around the blood in areas, prevent bruises from forming, and with a bit of magic help, the body heals itself. Get the bodies natural energies to work on healing a little faster."

Seraph watched in silence as the bruises started to fade on her father's back. Hekapoo's hands danced over Marco's skin, careful not to leave them over any one spot too long in fear of burning him.

"This takes focus, control and power all used at once. It also has limits, it works great on flesh but not so much on bone and it won't re-grow an arm."

Seraph nodded, she was a long way off from doing anything like that but she was willing to wait and work towards it.

Hekapoo pulled away letting her flames die down.

Marco shook putting his hand out to steady himself.

"And," Hekapoo noted. "It can tire out the person you do this on, and especially so if that person already tired themselves out."

Flames flicked on her hand, she smacked Marco in the back of the head. "That's for kicking my hand!"

"Ow!" Marco rubbed the back his head. "You're just being petty!"

"How does that surprise you?"

Marco nodded, "Yeah, it shouldn't I'd probably still have bite marks if I didn't de-age."

Hekapoo fiddled with her dagger putting them back together into a pair of scissors, opening a small portal. She reached into it pulling out a small scabbard.

"Think of it as a gift for passing. Something to hold onto your scissors."

Marco smiled looking down onto it and its emblem that matched the one on his scissors. He grabbed the sword and reverted it to scissors and slide it in, "Perfect fit."

"Well, look who made them." Hekapoo smiled. "One more thing," She reached back into the still open portal and pulled out a familiar katana. "I thought you'd like this back too."

Marco took it holding it close, he smiled like he'd been reunited with an old friend.

Marco turned to Hekapoo and then turned to Seraph. Hekapoo and Marco shared a look for a brief moment.

Hekapoo seemed to understand, "Sure, why not?"

Marco turned to Seraph and held out the sword to her. "Seraph, this is yours now."

"What?" Seraph was surprised.

"It seems right for you to have it. It was my sword first and then your mom had it for a while and it was one that I used to beat your mom once."

Seraph slowly pulled the blade out of its sheath and looked at her reflection in it. "Thank you." Seraph smiled, feeling the weight the sword in her hand knowing what it meant for her parents.

It meant a great deal to have something to call her own, something that once belonged to both her parents.

"Once this whole tournament is done we'll teach you how to use it," Marco informed her.

"Both of you?" Seraph picked up on that word.

"Yeah," Marco began, "your mom's teaching style is a bit too rough."

"It works." Hekapoo poked him the shoulder. "it works!"

"One of your clones wouldn't let me try to blow out her flames until I beat her in the sword fight."

"Which you eventually did. And you learned because of it."

"Because you kept smacking me with the sword until I learned how to use it."

"Like I said: It wanna know how to fight with a sword? Fight with it."

"We're going to teach her the slow and steady way. Practice and muscle memory."

"Fine, " Hekapoo relented. "But any other weapons we take my lead."

"Wait, how many weapons do you know how to use?" Star questioned the redhead.

Hekapoo paused for a moment after all her years she had picked up a lot of weapons, "Let's see, daggers are my go-to weapon, I'm good with halberds, lances, axes, maces, flails, Cat O'nine tails." Marco seemed to flinch at the at the weapon's mention.

Janna and Sensei to the side talked to themselves.

Janna started off, "So her parents are going to teach her to sword fight and fire magic?"

"That's awesome!" Sensei delighted in the idea.

"Yeah, it is." Janna relented.

"Ah, Marco…." Star started off. "You can put on your shirt on now."

And so he did.

Star and Janna both were unsure how to feel about that action.

He and Hekapoo spoke for a few minutes talking about the details. She told him to take the next day to rest and the following day she'd pick him up to take them to the Tournament. Marco had proven his worth with her so she'd keep her deal.

The tournament would be held over the weekend and the tournament committee would provide rooms for all those participating and their guests.

Marco's parents couldn't go along with him because of their work. Sensei was going as Marco's coach so they were fine with him going for the weekend.

Star and Seraph would go along with the obvious support.

So they all waited at the Diaz Household as a rift of swirling magical energy opened up. The fiery redhead stepped out, "So are you guys ready to go?"

* * *

 **A WORD FROM IDEAGENERATOR: Sorry to all you dedicated readers out there, but due to some major complications and issues that arose during the production of this story, I regretfully have to say that I will be stepping down from the role of beta reader/co-writer of Like Father, Like Daughter. I unfortunately got burned out on working on this story, but I have hope that whoever will take my place will be up for the task, as the stories me and ADdude planned deserve to be seen in the quality of writing as they deserve. It was a pleasure to be a part of this project, and until then, this is IdeaGenerator, signing off.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Okay, back. As you might have read above Ideagenerator is off this story. I'm thankful and grateful for all the work they put in. I did have another beta set up but there were complications. For the moment now I'm gonna be on this story solo. I'll probably look for another beta but later. Right now life has been weird with me and I just feel I need to work on this story. To have something that makes me happy. Long story short, I'll update sooner, like once a week for a while. Maybe more since the holiday is coming around and my video editing has stalled until I can a new edition of the software. Anyway, please leave a review and tell me what you think. Next chapter is gonna be kinda big so yeah. Bye. Also check out my new story Like Father, Like Daughter Omakes, they take place in this same world with short stories that just don't fit in the larger narrative.**


	7. Chapter 7: Round 1

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

* * *

Chapter 07: Round 1

The group walked out of the portal into a new world with a pinkish sky. They found themselves on the outskirts of a forest were a stony path lay before them.

Sensei bounced on his heels, "Huh? I would have thought all these alien worlds would feel different. Even the gravity feels Earth-like."

"You don't have to worry about that stuff in a Nexus Dimensions like these." Hekapoo waved off his concern.

Marco went on to explain, "Nexus dimensions are points of overlapping sub-space commonality, a world between worlds sharing a small portion of each. Because of these circumstances, Nexus Dimensions are capable of supporting individuals of any atmospheric, temperature, or gravitational needs. The dimension sort of matches everyone's needs and whatever their body is accustomed to."

"Wait, what?" Star paused confused.

"Oh, still remember the stuff you learned from those dimensional scholars," Hekapoo questioned him sounding a tad impressed.

"Yeah, I think so. I think it's episodic memory versus semantic memory thing."

"You're making up some of those words, right?" Star wiggled a finger at her bestie.

"The last part is actually something I picked up from my psychology textbook," Marco explained half feeling like he should pull out his Ph.D. glasses which he realized he didn't bring with him.

At the moment all he really had consisted of pretty much his regular clothes and a duffle bag of stuff.

Everyone else pretty much had a small overnight bag worth of stuff.

As they walked down the path they started to see a village at the end of the path. It looked like a large village pulled straight out of feudal Japan. It rested at the foot of a large waterfall that led into a river around the village.

"Welcome to Tatakai Dimension and the Kingdom of Tatakai, the home to the Battle Nexus Tournament."

As they made their way into the village they noticed several stalls selling items or food. Seraph looked around noticing just how many different species were there. Her mother had told her about the various peoples, worlds, and wonders but never had a chance to show her. She did get glimpses at the Quest Buy but nothing like this.

Seraph had always been young and they were just settling into their lives together when Hekapoo realized about her condition. Hekapoo regretted never showing her the multiverse and now seeing her daughter's eyes sparkle at everything before her a bit of that regret burned away.

Now Seraph was actually taking her first steps into the multiverse and the wonders it held.

That was when a portal opened up nearby and another Hekapoo stepped out leading forwards some sort of tall slender man with swords.

The other Hekapoo spotted Seraph and gave her a wave.

Seraph just waved back. Nearby more portal open with more clones leading other people along.

"So that's one of your clones?" Star stared at the doubles.

"Well, I could be a clone and you'd never know." Hekapoo teased the group.

Marco took a deep breath and blew out the flame on her head.

Hekapoo met his pleased grin with an annoyed look. With a huff her flame was re-lit.

Seraph giggled a bit, she could always tell which one was her mom and which ones were her clones and it looked like dad had the same talent. They had a link together so each clone knew what they all knew and acted the same. Seraph nor Marco could put it into words what told them which one was the real Hekapoo, it was the difference they felt when around the real her.

"They're just leading in the other guests," Hekapoo explained the presence of the clones. "That's the thing about this place, it's always been a gathering place for the multiverse. A neutral space where diplomats could meet and discuss things. Where traders from all over could come and sell their goods. This Tournament has been a tradition for eons, it has always been something to bring people here. The ruler of the dimension requested my help get all the fighters and handle somethings."

Marco started to get excited feeling the thrill of the challenge.

"Okay, we're gonna look around. You need to sign in." Hekapoo pointed to a long line to Marco.

The other went around to look at the stalls while Marco got in line.

0000

Hekapoo led the others along through the stalls to look around.

Hekapoo decided it was a good chance to give Seraph a bit of a lesson, "This dimension is a bit weird but the folks here have taken advantage of it."

"What do you mean, mom?" Seraph glanced over at a stall selling swords.

"As a Nexus Dimension, it's easier to get into, so much so that with the right factors rifts form and stuff slip in. It drew a lot of people's attention. The founders of this place started with that, they started a business trading the stuff that found its way here. The business expanded across dimensions and they started a settlement here. This place got bigger over time and became a kingdom, this place became sort of a neutral point for meetings. " Hekapoo walked a little bit, "They've developed a lot of clout because they managed to become mediators and diplomats for other dimensions."

Seraph looked around quirking an eyebrow, "Hey mom, I got a question."

"Yeah, shoot,"

"This place kinda feels like Quest Buy, why?"

Hekapoo smiled pride welling in her heart, "You picked up on that? Yeah, this is a Nexus Dimension and they tend to make Quest Buys at Nexus Points too. It's just easier for them to deal with all the variety of life forms that shops at those places."

"Because of that stuff that my dad said about getting used to people's bodies?"

"Right, Quest Buys tend to be made in smaller Nexus Points, nowhere as big as this place or a normal dimension but still pretty big. It just gives the whole place a weird feeling to it. Trust me you can feel it more at the Quest Buy with the big parking lot."

Hekapoo smiled proudly at her daughter, she noted the strange nature of the dimensions something most were not able to notice.

She paused when she noted that the other two had wandered off to the food stalls, "Hey, let's get a snack."

0000

After a long wait, Marco made it to the front of the line. One of the referees waited to ask him some questions and sign him in.

All the refs wore long white robes and hats, their faces hidden with white veils. Marco was unsure how they saw through the veil. The white clothing was supposed to represent their purity and how they were unbiased when judging their matches.

Marco was eventually lead into a small booth curtained off from the rest where the referee waited behind a small wooden desk.

"Your name, please?" The referee asked Marco.

"Oh, Marco Diaz."

With a wave of his white-gloved hand papers materialized before him. "Hm? Are you from Earth? I don't ever recall seeing someone from Earth enter the Tournament before."

"Yeah, I guess I would be the first." Marco gave him a small innocent shrug.

"Good luck to you." The noticed a note on the forms, "Oh, I need to see your weapon."

"My weapon?"

"Yes, we need to exam it to make it won't be used to cheat."

Marco pulled out his scissors and with a flick turned them into a sword.

The referee studied it for a moment, "Is that a pair of dimensional scissors?"

"Yes, is that going to be an issue?" Marco handed over the weapon.

"No, I think not." The referee looked over the sword, his hands carefully dancing across the cold steel. "We do allow weapons to have some magical abilities, such as growing, many weapons change size for convince. Just know that you are not allowed to use the scissors to create rifts. Any attempt to leave the ring will forfeit you the match and any attempt to make a rift will be seen as an attempt to leave."

"Okay, I got it." Marco paused, "There is an entry fee, right?"

"Yes,"

"Do you take Earth money? Dollars?"

"Yes, we do take all forms currency."

"So, how much is it?"

He shuffled through some papers, "Ah, yes, it would be 650 dollars."

Marco reached for his wallet ready to lose his royalties for the month but paused as he recalled he had already spent this month's royalties paying off the art room damage Seraph had to cause. He internally panicked, what was he going to do now?

"Oh, but your fee has been paid for already." The referee looked over a paper, "It was paid by a… Hekapoo?"

Marco smiled a little at Hekapoo's generosity.

The referee looked over his notes, "You are aware of the rules."

"Yes," Marco nodded.

The referee went over the rules of the tournament, just making sure he understood everything.

"Very well, sign here to confirm you are who you say you are and that you understand the rules of the contest and what we just went over."

Marco signed it with a pen he was given and his signature glowed as he finished.

Looking it over the referee waved his hand and some cards materialized along with a few papers that included a map.

"Here are your keys, your map, and a schedule. I wish you good luck young man." He handed the papers over along with the sword.

Shrinking the sword Marco found the group who were snacking on what Marco was fairly sure were fried lizards with wings.

They quickly made their way to the barracks reserved for the fighters and their guests. The cards acted as magical key cards for the door. They had their own small building to themselves, it was decorated simply like a nice hotel room. There were four bedrooms, one kitchen, and one sitting room. It also had a rather nice view of the river.

They all picked their rooms and started to settle in.

There was a knock on the door and Marco went to answer it, "Hello."

Marco wasn't sure what he expected but he didn't expect a monkey with an elaborate red robe of an outfit and a thin gold crown resting on his head. He held a long green staff with a strange lantern on top, the lantern glowed with a strange ethereal light.

"Hello." The monkey man greeted them politely.

Marco studied him for a moment, he seemed young, must have been about 12.

"Lord Wukong." Hekapoo greeted him as she came behind Marco.

"Lady Hekapoo, ah, what a pleasure to see you again." The monkey returned her greeting with a small bow. Wukong was fidgety, a little uncertain in the way he held himself and it often made him react a just noticeably stiff. "I hope you find the accommodations here to you're liking, should you wish it would be no trouble to get you a room with the other honored guests."

Hekapoo held out a hand to stop him, "Your consideration is appreciated it but I prefer to stay near… my champion."

Star raised an eyebrow, Hekapoo always seemed to be so laid back but she suddenly shifted into her diplomatic mode. It was a bit off-putting for Star.

"Yes, I was told he checked in and decided to come greet you personally." Wukong continued as he paused to look at Marco.

"Hey," Marco let out.

Wukong's long tail curled up, "Hello, I wish you well in the tournament. Many people expect many great things from you as the warrior brought to us by Hekapoo herself."

Hekapoo scratched the back of her head noting that.

"Looks like the pressure is on, dad." Seraph poked her father's shoulder.

Wukong picked up on that. "Dad?"

Wukong studied the young woman before him and looked at Marco and then his eyes fell on Hekapoo. His eyes darted back to Marco before returning to Hekapoo then to Seraph and that repeated a few times. "Oh, oh, OH! OH!" His tail shot up. "Oh….oh." He blushed lightly. Then he noted how Marco and Seraph looked about the same age. "Oh?"

Hekapoo glared at him for an instance letting her diplomatic mask slip a bit, "Yes, let me do the introductions. This is mine and Marco's daughter, Seraph Celosia Diaz."

"It's a pleasure, my lady." Wukong gave her a bow.

"Hiya!" Seraph gave him a wave.

Hekapoo cleared her throat, "We have yet to have her debut to the various houses and powers of the multiverse so we would appreciate your discretion until we can have a proper coming out party."

"Of course I understand." Lord Wukong nodded feverishly.

Star was annoyed by the mention of a debut, such coming out events were pretty common for royalty. She knew there was a ceremony when she was born and then when she given the wand. She was to have another one in a few months when her song day was supposed to be held and she was to be introduced to her people as their future queen. Star thought to herself about how she shouldn't be surprised that Seraph would get one being the daughter of Hekapoo.

"My apologies, I failed to introduce everyone," Hekapoo began as she waved over to Marco. "This is Marco Diaz, the champion I brought for this tournament."

"Oh, hello, a pleasure to meet you, sir." Marco tried to be respectful of his status and gave him a bow.

"His instructor." Hekapoo waved to Sensei. "Uh, Sensei."

"Yo!" Sensei greeted.

"And the princess of Mewni Star Butterfly," Hekapoo finished off.

"Uh, " Star blinked her mind having wandered. "Right, yeah, hello, your lordship." Star frantically tried to recall what her mom told her to do when meeting dignitaries. She did a half curtsy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Lord Wukong took a breath. "I will leave you to settle in. The tournaments will begin soon you should all get ready." He turned to Marco, "Once again good luck, warrior." He turned to Hekapoo, "Lady Hekapoo, there is something I wanted to discuss with you. I've managed to minimize the effects but with so many arriving today…"

"I'm already working on it, or my clones are. I will meet you later to perform the ceremony and that should settle things for the time being." Hekapoo told him.

"That sounds good." He bowed to her, "Please come by whenever it is convenient for you. Thank you for your assistance. I will let you all settle in then. Goodbye."

He tapped his staff on the ground twice, the same ethereal light wrapped around him and he vanished.

The others were stunned and Hekapoo just closed the door. "Yeah, flashy isn't it? His great-great-fifty-something-I-think-grandfather founded this kingdom and worked on teleporting magic. Stored the whole thing in that staff and passed it down as a symbol of the ruler of this place."

"Huh?" Star looked at the wand she held.

Hekapoo sat down in a chair and picked an apple from the welcoming fruit basket. "Sweet kid, a bit of a skittish type. Not sure how to behave with this new role and it doesn't help he can't control that staff."

"What do you mean?" Marco asked her.

Hekapoo sighed, "Nexus Dimensions tend to have weak dimensional walls so stuff can happen. Usually, the ruler of the dimension can use the staff to create pathways for people to come and go from this dimension but stuff happened. His father passes away recently before he could finish training him. So his pathways are less stable, thankfully over the centuries, they put up safety measures so when one nearly collapsed everyone was safe. But with so many people coming for the tournament they are stressing out the weak barriers. My clones have been fixing up the dimensional walls. Plus all of his people are tapping into his power too, they can't do anything big but the drain is not helping him when he's still trying to master it all. I'll just go to him later to help him out, sort of walk him through the ritual to repair everything. Just help him manage everything until he can get a mastery over the staff." Hekapoo waved them off, "This happens every once in a while, though it is taking this kid a lot longer to master it so I've been helping a lot more."

0000

They settled into their quarters and in a few hours, the tournament was to start. They split ways with Marco as he went to the other contestants.

There was a huge stadium buzzing with life and the noise of countless people eager to watch a fight.

Hekapoo, Seraph, Star, and Sensei settled into their box seats.

Though Hekapoo refrained taking the nicer accommodations rather staying with Marco in the rooms provided to the contestants and their entourage she did keep the box seat tickets that they offered her for her help.

They settled into their comfy seats and Star summoned up a pair of binoculars. Below them a large stone platform stood, all of the contests stood at the edge a few feet away from each other.

Quickly she spotted Marco wearing his Gi standing amongst the others, trying not to seem nervous and not doing a good job at it.

0000

Marco looked around, he spotted many contestants and he saw many different species most he'd never seen before. He was fairly sure at least one of them was related to the dinosaurs. He felt his heart racing as he began to worry about what he was going to do. It was battle royal, he'd have to fight until the numbers were trimmed down. With everyone fighting everyone it wouldn't be easy for anyone to make it through, it would be hard to defend from every angle and if you were kicked off the platform you'd lose as easily if you were knocked out.

"Nervous?" A voice spoke from a few feet away.

Marco turned to see what looked like a humanoid-wolf man with grayish-blue fur. His outfit was pretty simple, he wore a pair of brown pants a long red scarf wrapped around his neck. He gave Marco an encouraging smile.

Marco smiled, "Maybe a little, is it that noticeable."

"Yes, but then I can actually smell it coming off you." He chuckled a bit, "Relax, getting too into your head won't help you. Here's a tip: move around and defend at first, let the more reckless beat each other up and when the number are more manageable then make your move."

"Thanks," Marco told him.

"Think nothing of it, we might soon have to fight each other. Be on your guard." The Wolfman held up his head, "This is a contest of strength, let yours roar out, the power you earn is what will earn your place. If you are lacking you will be tossed aside, if you think you're lacking then leave before you are hurt. Otherwise get ready to show the world what you are worth."

Marco took a breath as he tried to calm himself down, his hand slowly tracing the pair of scissors that waited in the scabbard kept under his clothes.

0000

Lord Wukong stepped onto the balcony overlooked the stadium. All the eyes of the visitors turned up to him and they all grew quiet.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and others," He began his speech. "I welcome you all to this year's tournament. My late father always looked forward to this tournament, It saddens me greatly that he could not be here for this one. Thus I dedicate this year's tournament in his memory, so I ask you all to join me in a moment of silence." The crowd all went quietly in honor of the previous ruler who had passed only a few weeks back. Then Wukong spoke again, "But there is no time to dwell on the past, my father believed that and in his memory, I will try to live that."

He took a deep breath, "Today we come to see the greatest and most skilled warriors from the whole universe and have honorable combat. But first, for the uninitiated let us go over the rules."

Wukong paused searching for his notes. A pig man in brown hooded robe stood by Wukong's side handed him some cards.

"Right, yes, " The young lord looked the card over. "Round one will consist of a battle royal between all those who signed up. The battle will continue until we are down to 40 contestants. No use of magic will be allowed for combat, no flying is allowed, though any other inborn abilities will be allowed. Only weapons that have been checked by our referees will be allowed." He cleared his throat switching cards, "If a combatant is knocked, throw out of the platform, or has taken enough damage and is at risk of serious harm as judged by a referee they will be removed from the platform and are out of the tournament. They are also to be disqualified if they attack to kill or seriously harm another contestant or act in any way that goes against the set rules."

He dropped the cards.

"Uh," He said nervously, "And, that is about it. Contestants, fight honorably make your worlds proud…." He looked around, "Let us begin."

He tapped his staff on the ground and suddenly fireworks shot into the air.

0000

Marco looked up at his speech, he could tell he was trying his best but nervous. He could see many of the other contestant rolling their eyes or scoffing at him.

Marco felt bad for him, his father died and then he had all this responsibility laid onto his shoulders.

Marco pushed the thoughts away as he knew he had to get ready. He took a deep breath and got into his stance. He would have to move as soon as it started, he couldn't leave his back to the edge or he would be asking to get pushed off.

0000

The group watched from their seats with bated breaths. There were rules to try and keep anyone from killing each other but that still left the possibility of someone getting hurt. Namely, Marco, humans on a grand scale were not as durable as most species so he could get hurt easily.

Seraph tapped her finger impatiently before she felt a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, your dad is gonna do fine." Sensei reassured her. "He's a tough despite being all about safety he knows when to dodge. He won't let himself get hurt."

"Yeah," Hekapoo added, "your dad is crafty. He actually holds two records with my trials, one being the one to last the longest time and he was the quickest to ever blow out one of my clones. Your dad is crafty."

"Yeah, yeah," Star piled on, "the first day I met him he was all quick to fight monsters, and that was like the first anyone on Earth had ever seen a monster. So, your dad is super quick."

Seraph smiled reassured by their words clenched her fist as her faith in her father was renewed.

The other looked straight on hoping they were right. He was skilled but that didn't mean he couldn't be seriously hurt.

"Begin!" Wukong struck his staff again.

Several referees in white floated over the platform and kept an eye on everything. Much of the strange powers and magic the servants held was just an extension of Wukong's own power he drew from the staff.

With that, it all began, and with loud yells, all the combatant raced for the center.

All of them knew staying at the edge would likely leave them in a bad position so they had no choice but to go the center and where everyone would rush.

0000

As they got closer to each other the combatants started to take swings to each other. As Marco ran around he forced himself not to draw out the scissors, they could help him but it was better to save them. Besides, he didn't want to potentially hurt someone with a random swing, plus he knew if he saved it he could use it as a trump card.

There was a loud yell as some guy was tossed out of the platform. He rolled onto the floor and to a stop. Nothing remarkable, a guy with brown hair wearing a pink Gi that looked like it should have been white but got dyed in the wash. He was whimpering as he was on the verge of tears, "Father!"

He vanished in a flash of light. The referee teleported him away.

The first person out of the tournament and that was an honor Marco was glad to pass on.

Marco noticed a large screen in the stadium that flashed the picture of the loser.

Marco didn't have much more time to focus on it as a terrible scream pierced the air. A woman in a black and white outfit, with long white hair, and her face painted like a skull jumped center screaming. It wasn't an ordinary scream, the air rippled around her and everyone was tossed by to the side by the force of her screams.

The screams rendered her opponents unable to move and she took advantage using her innate strength to grab the contestants and tossing them off the platform.

"Banshee!" Marco heard someone yell, he couldn't do much else has he was trying to cover his ears.

Though she was a magical creature this counted as an innate ability and innate ability she was free to use.

It was just too hard to restrict people's born abilities, where did you draw the line? The guy with claws can use them but the guy who breathes fire can't.

It didn't matter much anyway, everyone there was supposed to be used to fighting all sort of creatures if they were to be the champion of an extra-dimensional tournament then they should be able to handle any weirdness the universe threw at them.

The ground shook as a tall warrior made of stones rushed towards her slapping anyone away from him. He swung his massive stone fist at her and she put her arms together to block. It wasn't enough, the sheer force shot her off the platform.

The stone man bellowed in victory but before he could enjoy it a buff blond man with a hammer rushed towards. The hammer struck the stone man in the chest and the stones began to crack. The man with the hammer jumped up to bring down the hammer down on the stone monster when he vanished in a flash of light. The referees teleported him away to prevent serious injury.

Marco looked around, slowly people were being teleported away either too injured already to continue or just before they took the finishing blow.

Marco had been trying to pay attention to everything around him, at the moment he was just trying to avoid detection and just any random attacks. Marco just dodged and weaved his way through the platform trying to make it to the center where at least it would be less likely to be tossed off. Though he was making little progress.

He heard someone cackle like a maniac and just ducked in time to avoid lightning blasts. Others were not so lucky either getting struck and knocked out or being teleported away just before getting hit.

More images of the fallen appeared on the screen. All the wild attacks had started to cull their numbers.

It was time for Marco to make his move. He didn't have to beat everyone he just had to outlast a majority and then work his way through the tournament. That was when he locked eyes with a young woman with long black hair who wore a white top and a black skirt. Marco was a bit confused, his time in Hekapoo's dimension had taught him how to read people. This girl was even wearing jewelry she was either really out of her depth or very skilled that she could dress casually. Then he noticed she was wearing black and red gloves with guards.

"Oh, no…."

Marco jumped back and that was the right thing to do. The girl jumped ahead and bridge the gap and punch down towards the spot he had been in. The ground shattered and if Marco hadn't moved her punch would have shattered him.

Marco took a breath, she was obviously strong and quick but wasn't wearing any armor. He could assume she got take a hit if he was going to beat her he needed to react fast.

She looked at him with a small smile, she didn't seem malicious but didn't think she didn't seem to be holding back too much.

He had fought things much stronger than him before, sometimes it seemed like he did that more than fighting people at his level.

He raised his hands and she charged at him. He needed to time this just right. He could feel the force coming off her first, pushing the air around as she got close he spun out of the way, he grabbed her and tossed her away. As her momentum carried her, she couldn't stop and ran into this guy with huge black spiky hair in an orange Gi, as they collided both fell off the platform.

The guy whined, "Hey I didn't even get to punch any-"

They were both teleported away.

"Okay, that was just lucky." Marco had to admit.

He ducked again just avoiding a kick, Marco gazed at the tall spindly man attacking him.

Though he had to reach Marco dodged him by running through his legs. As Marco ran he made sure to strike his knees. His opponent was quick to collapse to the ground. Not wasting the chance quickly to deliver a kick to their head. Before the hit could connect they vanished in a flash of light.

A tall humanoid gladiator triceratops was first to charge rushing him head-on. He had on an iron skirt and armor over his right arm, a shield and sword slung over his back. This would be dinosaur rushed at Marco trying to knock him out of the ring quickly.

Marco jumped over it but failed to clear the jump. Marco found himself on the crown on his head holding onto his horns.

"Get off me mammal!" The triceratops tried to shake him off.

"Trying too!" Marco let out.

Marco grabbed him by the horns turning the lumbering body and forcing him to the ground.

The reptile warrior let out a yelp but quieted down when he realized Marco's intent. As he fell he just dodged an attack. Marco quickly scrambled to his feet as he got a good look at the attacker.

It was a sandman, he looked like a normal man with bulky build though but his species had a talent, to turn into sand. He stretched out his arm which turned into the sand to try and attack them both when they had their guard down.

As he pulled back his sand arm back, both Marco and the dinosaur-like warrior turned their attention to him.

"Do you want to form a truce to take him down?" Marco asked him.

"Well, I do hate sneak attacks." He cracked his head. "For the moment we work together."

"I might need a boost and an opening."

"That I can provide."

They quickly whispered to form a plan.

The Sand Man smiled his arms and legs turning to sand, his body stretched out lifting him into the air. His hand formed large sand fists and moved to strike them.

The triceratops rushed head-on, literally like the ancient dinosaur it used his head as a weapon. The fist collided with his hard head, the hand trembled for a moment coming into a contact of such force. The warrior reached up grabbing the hand as best he could. He grit his teeth pressing forwards, unwilling to let that happen he pressed back with his free hand.

"Now!" The warrior bellowed.

Marco rushed forwards jumping on his tail, with a flick the tail tossed Marco up into the air.

The Sandman was surprised by the action. Marco moved to kick the Sand Man's head, in a panic he turned his head into the sand to avoid the blow, Marco just cut through it and the sand quickly reformed and turned back to flesh.

"Did you really think that would work?" The Sand Man taunted Marco as he landed.

"No, but to distract you, I was sure that was enough." Marco smiled.

"Ah!" The warrior with all his strength pulled on the man's hands and twisted him to the side. Using the same principle that Marco had used on him.

The Sand Man was not quick enough to react, but few are quick enough to avoid thunder.

Marco had been busy keeping his eyes open and paying attention, that helped him avoid the Sand Man's initial attack but also note that someone was throwing lightning.

Some skeletal man in a red robe had been cackling as he shot lighting all around him. Marco noted the fact and told his partner about it. All he had to do is to time the attack for when the Sandman was distracted and make sure he was put in the direction of a random bolt.

The thing is, Sandmen are a well-known species and a hard one to fight. They can turn into sand and avoid hits, most people can only beat them by soaking them with water to turn them into mud which makes them harder to reform. Though lightning could do the trick. Something Marco knew well after fighting Hekapoo in a dessert was that sand turns to glass with heat.

"Aaaaah!" The Sandman yelled out in pain as the sandy part of his body turned into the glass.

Marco rushed him and jumped into the air delivering a kick right at his head.

He let out a yelp his body pulled from the glass parts.

With a flash of light his body vanished and all his pieces.

Marco took a step back, it didn't matter if his body was torn apart he would be able to put himself back together with time.

Marco looked at the warrior as he prepared to fight his previous ally.

The triceratops man clicked his tongue, "Make it to the next round, we will settle this when next we meet."

He gave him a sort of smile before he turned to fight his next opponent.

He wouldn't mind fighting and beating Marco it just felt a little strange to fight him right after working together.

Marco smiled starting to feel pumped, he was getting into the flow of things. He needed to keep moving as people around him started to fall. It would only be time before the round ended or someone would beat him.

Marco noticed a shirtless man with an ax yelling at the top his lungs fighting anyone near him. He wore a mask like a helmet but Marco could tell he seemed to be enjoying his fight.

Marco decided not to stop him or to get his attention.

He heard some heavy steps move towards him.

This newcomer locked eyes with Marco.

He was stocky figure and bald, Marco had to admit the man looked like a baked potato. He wore some sort of remains of a blue-ish purple armor with scraps of a cloak. He had an old sword slung over his back and staff in his three-fingered hand. There was a scar running over the right eye.

He grumbled, "Another half-form, poor sport for a tournament that is supposed deal with the strongest fighters in the universe." He readied his staff, "Come on then, let's make this quick."

He wouldn't be someone Marco could toss out of the ring, he seemed to have a low center of gravity and from the way, he held himself Marco could tell he was a fighter. He was probably a grappler too. His beefy arms meant he was strong, probably could toss him out easily if he got him.

Marco rushed him trying to hit him fast and hard. As Marco got close he chopped at him but found the staff block the blow. Marco took a step back his arm hurting a bit as he realized the staff was metal, not wood.

The man laughed to himself, "You have some fight in you. This might be a bit amusing after all."

Marco rushed him again hitting him in the face, he moved to strike Marco landing a hit dead center. Marco managed to use his arms to keep the staff from hitting him directly on the chest as he moved back.

Marco steadied himself but was forced to move as he quickly found himself put on the defense. Marco barely dodged another blow with the staff, the ground beneath him cracked taking the blow.

Marco paused and held out his arms to block any blow, he could hear the faint crackle of more people being teleported around him.

The warrior raised the staff studying Marco, holding the staff before him ready to block any attack Marco might try.

"You don't fight like a half form."

Marco didn't reply.

"Even at this moment you wait for a chance, for an opening to strike, you use the moment to study me for a weakness all while you keep yourself aware of your surroundings." He almost gave Marco a smile, "The young make too many mistakes, they suffer from inexperience. Your eyes give you away, they are older than the rest of you. The glimmer with years of experience on the battlefield and the hunt."

Marco tried to keep himself steady, showing any weakness in a fight could easily be your undoing.

"Know that your defeat will come at the hands Kaagh the Slayer. Know that your failure will serve as a stepping stone to my path to reclaim my glory. Stop with your foolish games of deception and use that dagger."

Marco's hand rushed to the scissors at his side on his belt, it's no wonder Kaagh thought they were a dagger who normally takes scissors to a fight. Marco thought about pulling them out and turning it into his sword. He wanted to save it for an emergency.

At that moment a woman with long flowing silver hair and a black gown stepped into the center of the platform.

There were many opponents at her feet flickering away after a moment, and it looked like everyone else was giving her a wide berth and from what Marco could tell he wasn't sure it was done intentionally. Just looking at her made him uncomfortable.

He was sure he had seen her species somewhere before, in Hekapoo's dimension but he couldn't recall what she was. He tried to push the thought out of his head and focus on the fighter before him. With the measured response, both he and Kaagh moved towards one another.

0000

"…No," Hekapoo let out quietly as she saw the woman held out a rapier, the blade made out of shimmering crystal.

Like Marco, she recognized it as familiar being, but unlike Marco, she knew what the woman was. She knew what a threat that woman was.

0000

"Let's cull the numbers." Her icy blue eyes looked at the ground and the crystal began to shimmer, with that she tapped the floor twice.

The ground beneath her exploded all around her.

0000

Hekapoo and the others stared on to see the platform explode, the stadium grew quiet as dust covered the platform keeping everyone from seeing what was happening.

"Mom?" Seraph said softly.

She turned to see her mother looking pale, her nails digging into her chair.

Star bite down on her wand staring without blinking at the platform.

"It's gonna be fine, your father has fought something like her before," Hekapoo spoke unsure of her own words.

0000

The dust began to settle and the center the woman stood stoically. She didn't flinch or move, she stood there waiting. The referees floated above controlling the wind to clear the dust to make sure that everyone was still alive.

Flashes of light went off like fireworks, one by one as they began to teleport the fallen away. Most of them were tossed out of the ring by the forced by the attack and other knocked out by the force of by some of the debris that was torn up.

Groans and moans were heard as the dust settled.

"Ow…" Marco moaned as he lifted himself off the ground.

Marco had realized what was happening and leaped off the ground before it passed them, then he did what he could to avoid the rocks that were kicked up. He got knocked around a bit but he made it through.

As he looked around, some of the others had the same idea, some forced their way through the brunt of the attack, some actually blasted themselves above the attack and some just got lucky in one way or another.

Some actually clung to the ground and rode out the shock wave.

"What are you?" A knight whose armor that dented asked.

"I believe you've heard of my species, I doubt you'd know my subspecies or my title." She spoke just offering a small glance.

"Vampire Lady, from the Lands of Shadow and Light," Marco spoke up, he couldn't see Kaagh anywhere around. He groaned as he got up. "And your title is Vampire Knight."

This got her attention the lady turned her head and looked at Marco.

0000

"Vampire," Hekapoo whispered in the booth.

"Vampire?" Star questioned, "but its sunny Vampires don't do well in the sun."

"Most don't," Hekapoo agreed her eyes focused on the platform. "But there are a lot of types of vampires, some feed off blood, some feed of emotion and some feed of life itself."

"This one is a vampire Lady, they pretty much top of their hierarchy. Vampire Lords and Ladies don't have the usual weakness, the sun doesn't affect them and neither does garlic. Normal Vampires evolved into those lords over a millennium. Every trait heightened and every weakness crushed, their numbers are few even amongst the universe. Most, even other vampires, think them legends. With just a touch they can draw out someone life and zap it for a snack. They can actually control and manipulate the energy of anyone they touch even their own. Normal vampires are fast and strong but these guys make them look like weak turtles without shells. They conquered a dimension for themselves with that power, the lands of Shadow and Light, a hidden dimension lost to most. They wanted a dimension to themselves as to avoid contact with the rest of the Universe. No one is stupid enough to go there unless they have business because anyone who doesn't get their permission doesn't come out."

0000

"You guessed correctly." She asked curiously looking at Marco.

"The Luxor Sword was a giveaway, only given to Vampire Knights. To those who serve the courts, to the those in charge, and are most loyal warriors." Marco told her. "The sword that can bend light, it's supposed to be a symbol of how a vampire has beaten back their natural weakness. It's an interesting sword, it can help use magic and all sort of stuff but with a Vampire Lady, it lets you heighten your power to manipulate life energy. That attack…." Marco groaned, "that attack wasn't just your strength, it was your very life. You used it to push the force through the platform. That's actually a pretty cool use of that skill."

Marco had to keep talking, as long as she listened and didn't attack he could catch his breath, the other warriors were starting to get up using that time. If any of them were to have a shot they all have to work together to fight her.

She turned her full attention to Marco, her eyes eagerly studying him. "You've met my kind before."

Though it wasn't common knowledge about Vampire Knights, it was possible for someone to know about the title. But the Vampire Lords and Ladies were little more than rumors amongst the most powerful of the multiverse, the only reasonable way Marco could discern what she truly was if he had met one before.

"Yeah, at one really messy wedding," Marco huffed as he got on his feet. "had a really nice dance there though."

"You've killed my kind before." She didn't accuse, she merely stated a fact.

"… yes, I did say messy." Marco gave her an awkward expression. "I didn't do it alone, I doubt I'll ever be able to kill a Lady or a Knight alone much less a vampire whose both."

"At least you're not as foolish as some of the mortals here."

A spear wielding snake man lunged at her but she stopped the attack with the back of her hand before flicking them away.

Marco sighed, as many of those present started to rethink their strategies.

Marco needed to keep her talking, something he had learned recently was that immortals got bored. She didn't care about victories, she was merely there to kill some time. If Marco kept their conversation interesting enough to hold her interest she wouldn't bother to finish the fight just then.

She hadn't even killed anyone, she hadn't used magic or broken any rule. She was holding back trying to keep things interesting.

"I respect your humility. Others would have boasted and I would have cut out their tongue. Let me know your name."

"Marco Diaz."

"You may call me Noire," Her fingers wrapped around her sword. "I hope you make it pass my next attack and I may test your strength in person. I won't hold back as much this time, I wish to test these warriors but I do not wish to waste any more of my time on the weak."

The sword started to shimmer and she raised it into the air. She poured moments of her life into the sword, days, weeks, months, and years but for an immortal vampire that was like pocket change.

If any of these warriors were worth her time they'd find a way to survive the next assault some way.

0000

Star gulped as did every magic user in the stadium did. They felt the years flow into the weapon, that power was getting to the point that none magic users were starting to feel the impact it would have.

"Okay, no more playing nice, time to stop holding back." Hekapoo whispered, "Time to get serious."

0000

The sword came down the ground and the blast rippled out to the air making everyone present shiver.

There was no grand explosion and the platform did not break.

Noire looked at her expression turning slightly towards shocked.

"What a peculiar sword,"

Marco rushed to her and turned his scissors into his sword using it to block the hit keeping it from touching the ground. The force was diverted into the air instead of the ground and lucky for him deflecting the brunt of the attack away from him.

"A normal sword would have shattered from such a hit."

Marco struggled to hold the sword, his arms felt like they'd fall off. He huffed, "Yeah, well, I know people who do good work."

"So, was she the one who helped you kill those vampires you met?" As she spoke she didn't look at Marco but at the box that Hekapoo sat in.

She had figured out what the sword was and who made it and put things together.

"All right, you've peeked my interest." She pressed her sword ever so slightly harder against the blade. "For that, I won't let the battle ends quickly. I'll give them a chance."

Marco hated how fighters learned to read people so quickly, to think people and their motivations could be discerned so quickly was just a mistake. He hated how this trait was even more prominent amongst immortals. He also hated how accurate her guess was, she'd figured out he was buying everyone time.

He didn't want anyone hurt, he wanted them to be ready for the fight.

She jumped into the air dodging a sword slash.

A red-coated arched took their chance and fired a few shot from their bow right at the vampire. She spun in the air dodging the attacks and then one struck her side, she quickly pulled out a small sword, "Did someone just shot a sword at me?"

Noire's body already healing as she tossed the sword away.

A whip wrapped around her leg pulling her to the ground slamming her down. When she hit the ground dozens of contestants jumped on her trying to pin her or if possible knock her out. An instant later they were tossed off her and shot off in different directions. She got to her feet and dusted herself off.

The fighter rushed her and she dodged and danced around them. They might have been worth her interest but now so many were tired wounded, she lost interest in continuing the fight with each passing moment.

She fixed her grip on her sword and the crystal began to shimmer ever so lightly. She began to wildly slash at the hair. With each slash, the air was cut and with powerful gusts of wind, people were tossed around.

She swung her sword again only for it to stop mid-swing.

"Stop." Marco blocked her swing with his sword.

"You do know it over already, do you not?"

A man with an iron mask had fallen to the ground, probably had been hurt and exhausted trying to dodge the attacks.

He vanished in a flash of light.

"It's over!" Lord Wukong called out tapping his staff on the ground. "The number of contestants is down to 40. The first round is done."

The silent crowd took the news in and started to cheer those who had made it to the second round.

The large screen flashed the faces of the fallen warriors before displaying those who'd made it.

"You've all done well." Wukong admitted, his voice echoing through the stadium, "Now its time for you all to rest."

Noire placed her sword in her scabbard, the others began to do the same there was no need for them to fight now even if they felt like fighting.

A woman with pink fur and a cat-like smile moved to Wukong's side and whispered something to him. She wore a white and gray habit like outfit.

"Oh, good," Wukong continued, "Sister Fraus from Sisters of Plenitude has informed me that they are taking care of the those wounded. Any still left standing are more than welcomed to come and get healed, just come to the infirmary for healing."

0000

"Sisterhood of Plentitude?" Seraph questioned the name.

"Yeah," Hekapoo told her daughter. "It's a sisterhood that devotes themselves to helping the sick and hurt. Every order had different methods, some use magic others work through science. I think this is the Order of the Bleeding Heart."

"Bleeding heart?" Star questioned the name.

"Yeah, this order focuses on healing magic to use it to heal those wounded in battle. For centuries they've gone to battles to heal everyone from every side to try and prevent death. Now, we should probably go get Marco he looks like he's about to pass out."

Many of the sisters were already present at the platform healing the contestants, but those like Marco refused their help.

Marco wanted to push his limits, see how far he could go without any real healing. To know how far he could get.

But he was feeling it now that the fight was over. He didn't want to show weakness but he was finding it hard to stay up and was now forced to use the sword to prop himself up. His muscles ached, his skin and muscles were starting to bruise and he felt a few cuts started to bleed. He was still not ready to give up.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: First off, Happy thanksgiving… well, for those living in the use US and reading this during Thanksgiving. Okay, I hope you guys like it. This chapter felt long, there was the whole set up in the start and the battle. I tried to keep the focus on Marco because this whole thing is crazy. Anyway, let me know if you guys got any of refs or expy I put in there. I might be able to get you guys another chapter soon. Also, what did you think of Marco's fighting. I've always felt that Marco was pretty smart so I had that come into his fighting, he used his mind and years of experience to find the best way to fight people who are much stronger than him. Overall what do you guys think.**


	8. Chapter 8: Marco Diaz vs The Multiverse

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

 **Special Thanks to my beta Ideagenerator**

* * *

Chapter 08: Marco Diaz vs The Multiverse

After the fight, they returned to the room to rest. Marco's room was dark and quiet, he felt tired and tried to take a nap. Though he found it a little hard to rest with all the injuries he took so he got some help.

"You're an idiot," Hekapoo told him.

They both sat on the floor.

Hekapoo sat behind Marco who was now just in a pair of shorts.

Hekapoo's hands were coated in her blue flames slowly roaming over his body. "I'm not a healer, you should really go to the sisters to get healed up. All this does is help your muscles, from bruising and help with some of the smaller wounds."

"I don't have any broken bones or anything. This isn't serious."

"That's not the point, why do you have to be so pig-headed? You can just get healed."

"I don't want to be healed, I want to test how far I can go on my own. If I get healed it would be like cheating myself, I just want to see how far I can go with this body. I'll turn in the towel before I let myself get too hurt, I promise but I just want to see how far I can go. This is just like having a really good heating pad."

Hekapoo sighed letting her flames die out, "Fine," she relented and then spun Marco to look her straight in the eye. She took a moment as she re-lit her hands and focused on the front half of his body, "Promise me that you won't let yourself get seriously hurt, " her eyes dug deeply into his, "I don't want to see that, I don't want to see our daughter's expression seeing her dad beaten to pulp."

Marco smiled, "You don't have to worry, H-poo."

"Don't call me that!"

"I'm not going to do anything too dangerous."

"Pfft, like it's much of a choice," Hekapoo let out, "one of the fighters is a Vampire Lady, a vampire from the Lands of Shadow and Lights, you couldn't beat one without my help."

"Yeah…"Marco scratched his cheek, "I remember that wedding."

Hekapoo flinched as she remembered it too. "Right, the Sacred Moon Wedding that those vampires planned."

"I remembered the dance we had too."

Hekapoo's flame flickered in the dark, "Right, yeah, I'm still not sure the music wasn't magical and made everyone dance in time with it."

"I remember holding you as we danced, you were light on your feet."

"You're one to talk, " Hekapoo smirked, "you enjoyed that dance."

"Why wouldn't I have enjoyed it? You looked beautiful and I never really had a lot of chances to dance with a beautiful woman."

"Well, I have to admit it was a fun night. I don't remember the last time I had a chance to dance like that." Hekapoo paused, "I've done as much as I could. You need to rest and get something to eat."

She studied his chest, noting the bruises vanishing, he'd gotten soft when he became a teenager again but it was changing. He'd build up some muscle and his chest had gotten more tone.

The flames from her hands began dying down.

The pair found themselves looking at each other, looking at into each other's eyes and they suddenly realized how close their faces were.

Marco's face felt warm, he knew it wasn't from the Hekapoo's head. He stared wide-eyed, he couldn't help but think he beautiful she looked lit by her single flame.

Maybe it was all the excitement of the day, maybe it was them recalling that night and dance, or maybe it was their close proximity but they found themselves leaning close to one another.

How long since the last time they kissed?

They leaned on their lips about to touch, neither really thinking of their actions. Both just missing an experience that they felt they hadn't had in lifetimes.

"Hey, mom! Done treating dad?" Seraph yelled slamming the door open.

Her parents both quickly jumped to their feet.

"Ah, what's going on?" Star noted Marco solely in his shorts.

Marco tried to cover himself, "I'm going to take a shower, a nice long cool shower." Marco quickly made his way to the bathroom.

Hekapoo fanned herself, "Feels warm, anyone else feels warm? I'm going to open a window."

0000

The tournament was over for the day, the next day would start early and the contestants would fight each other one by one until a winner was declared. But for the night there would be a festival to celebrate the start.

Hekapoo excused herself to take care off something and the others headed out.

The contestants that made it pass round one were treated to a feast.

A literal feast, they and their guests could eat and drink as much as they wanted. Some of the best chefs from all the universe were brought to the tournament to cook for everyone. They could just about make anything anyone wanted.

The wait staff was busy dragging out in all the food, taking orders and everything.

Every contestant that made it this far was given a table for them and their guests.

The tables came with large books for menus, just to show what the chefs could make with what they had.

Marco and Seraph were eager to find something from Hekapoo's dimension.

Marco was quick to pick his meal, "It's been so long since I gotten to eat finbalscurr and prenpar meat. Chives and chicken are just a poor substitute."

"I know," Seraph quickly picked her meal, "pork sandwiches are good but not as good as drap wrap, you know?"

Star had no idea what they were talking about, she'd never heard of those meats and she'd traveled a fair bit with her parents.

Sensei's reaction was a bit different, "So the meat's good? I'll have what they're having."

Star shrugged as she got the chefs to make a meal from Mewni. Since it seemed busy Marco took the lead and ordered something for Hekapoo figuring it would be ready when she got there.

0000

Wukong was walking to his room to take a rest, several guests had made complaints directly to him.

He quickly opened the door to his room and closed it behind him.

"Lord, we need to talk."

Wukong found Hekapoo waiting for him.

"Lady Hekapoo how did you get into my quarters?"

"I can pretty much get anywhere, I have a question for you: Why did you let a vampire from the Lands of Shadow and Light join the fight?"

Wukong flinched at the words, many people had come to complain about that.

He tried to brace himself, "Ah, well, you know the rules, we don't discriminate any contestant by species or from where they're from. This tournament is meant to unite people not divide them."

Hekapoo relented the point, "Okay then, what are you doing to make sure everyone is safe?"

"The rules are that no contestant is allowed to harm anyone outside the fights, doing so gets them kicked out."

"You know what I meant."

"She assured us that she will not feed on anyone while she's in this dimension. My people have checked and vampires of her sort can go nearly centuries without feeding on anyone. During the fight, she touched some of the contestants but they were unharmed, just a little drained of their stamina and in the need of rest. She has broken no rules and I will not prohibit her for nothing."

Hekapoo gazed at him, her eyes intense and unblinking, the young lord flinched at took a step back, "And you believe her?" Hekapoo's voice was cool and collected, Wukong had expected her to yell.

His lantern glowed briefly as if reacting to his emotions, the light a small comfort for him. He gripped it tighter, reminding himself what it meant. He was the Lord, he needed to be strong.

His hand's trembled more than he wished they did, he gulped and moved forwards, "Yes. My father always made this a welcoming event. I'm not going to send her away for nothing."

At least he was staying true to what he believed was right. That is what his father taught him to be, he never mentions how hard it could be or how scary it could be but he would try.

"Good," Hekapoo told him. "Stand for something, I'm sure your dad would have been proud."

"You are not upset with me?" Wukong looked up confused, he'd heard about Hekapoo's fury and half expected her to do something rash.

Hekapoo gave him a pat on the head, "Nope, I'd be more upset if you folded. You're in charge now, you have to know when to stand up. If you're not gonna stand up for what you think is right then what are you going to stand up for."

Wukong stared confused at her, was that just some test in character. He was sure if he lived forever he wouldn't be able to understand her.

"Now excuse me, I have dinner and my daughter is waiting. Let's get to work." Hekapoo dusted herself off.

"Okay." Wukong took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

He followed her into a deeper chamber in the castle. It was the heart of the castle, the kingdom and the dimension itself. There was a strange warmth in this place, an energy to itself.

He remembered how many times his father led him here, how many stories he told him, about their history and about the glory his family had achieved. Compared to all that he felt so small. What he wouldn't give to be able to so much speak to his father, to ask for advice or just hug him once more.

As much as he wanted to give up, he remembered his father's words, that as rulers of the land lived for their peoples. They had to take care of them. It was their duty and their most sacred one at that.

Wukong looked around at the massive chamber, the bricks that covered the walls each decorated with the history of the family and the kingdom. His family found this place once they learned the power that the staff now had. They swore to protect this place for should this place fall or be twisted the whole dimension would suffer.

"Hold out your staff," Hekapoo instructed, his hands reached out to the center of the chamber.

Hekapoo began the ritual telling him what to do to connect to this location.

Wukong did as he was instructed, he followed her instructions and felt a twinge of something beyond his ability to understand. For a brief instant, he felt the lives of everyone in the dimension and it threatens to overwhelm him.

"Don't let it!" Hekapoo told him, "Don't let it overtake you, let it wash over you. This has no will or desire, use your staff to move through to the core."

He braced himself as the staff began to glow, his mind reaching out to something right before him and miles away.

He took a breath feeling something, almost like an erratic heartbeat.

"Steady it, steady yourself, feel the pathways made and all the wounds. Command it to repair and heal."

The staff glowed brightly as Wukong let her commands lead him.

Slowly he felt his heart move in time with the force that lay there.

0000

At the table, they just talked waiting for the food to arrive.

The one thing about the fighters was that if they didn't hold a grudge they could be really fun with each other. They all fought in a contest and held no qualms against each other. Now many were talking to each other, drinking, and sharing stories.

Marco noticed that some figures were not present, Noire and Kaagh being prime examples.

Marco noticed that masked man drinking and eating with some of the other fighters.

"Dad, you were so cool today!" Seraph smiled proudly at her dad.

"Yeah," Sensei told him, "you started off a bit rough but you got into the groove near the end with the sand guy, that potato dude, and the vampire girl."

Even sensei seemed tense at the mention of the vampire, she was super strong and took a lot of notice and there were certainly a lot of people trying to figure out how to beat her.

"So, yeah, any idea how to win against her?" Star brought up the question.

"Not really," Marco admitted. "I'll just have to figure it out as we get into it."

"It won't be that easy though." That triceratops stood behind Marco. "The name is Maximus, your name is Marco, correct?"

"Yeah," Marco was a bit nervous about the large reptile.

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Sure," Marco didn't seem the harm if he was being polite about it.

Maximus pulled up a chair and sat down across them.

"Something that caught my attention was the sword you had. I've never actually seen something like that. Any other sword would have shattered at that force."

"Well, it's a pretty unique weapon made just for me," Marco said proudly, he pulled out his scissors changing them into his sword. That got a few stares from people, Marco assumed it was because he suddenly had a sword out so he quickly changed them back. "Sorry,"

"Are those dimensional scissors?" The wolfman walked over to him.

Marco stared at the familiar, "Hey it's you."

He smirked, "The name is Roman." He gave Marco a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Good to see you made it past the first round."

"Thanks," Marco smiled, "and yeah, they are dimensional scissors."

Some of the nearby contestants made their way over and turned their attention to him.

"Where did you get them?" Maximus asked him.

"Well, I earned them from Hekapoo."

Many of them looked at him with disbelief and other actually chuckled at that.

Marco looked on confused by their reaction.

Maximus was the first to reply to this, "No, really where did you get that. It can't be real dimensional scissors."

"They are real dimensional scissors I got them from Hekapoo." Marco held them out, "That's why they withstood the hit, Hekapoo makes them from super strong metals."

Roman smirked, "They're nice, but what are they really? A really good knockoff?"

"We mean you no offense." Maximus explained, "It's just that no one earns them from Hekapoo anymore. There hasn't been someone to pass one of her tests in a millennium. Most of the ones you see now of days are knocks sold by Quest Buy, usually made from the broken bit of scissors she has made, or something passed down through the ages from those had earned them, some are gifts to people in power or have done great deeds."

Roman tried to explain it better. "The founder of the Sect of the Bleeding Hearts was given a pair as to continue their good work with greater ease and a wider reach. Many royals have been given scissors as a gift to help better reach other diplomats to broker deals and make peace easier. They even got extra pairs for their servants to carry out tasks for them that take them to other dimensions."

Seraph smirked as she held out her hand a flame flickering in it. Marco held his scissors over the flame and his name lit up.

Many people there paused as they reevaluated the situation.

"I am proud to say that I am the first Human to pass one of Hekapoo's trials." Marco held out the scissors.

Maximus almost smiled in awe and chuckled unsure of what to say, "You completed her trial?"

"Which trial?" Roman asked his tone getting serious.

"What she has more than one?" Star questioned Marco.

"Yeah," Marco explained to her. "Hekapoo has a lot of quests to prove your worth. Sometimes to get a pair you have to pay a high price, complete an epic journey, complete some sort of amazing task, sometimes she even leaves them as prizes for dungeons but yeah most are inherited. She uses different trials for different people. A warrior that has proven his worth over years of battle and good deeds would likely give an easier trial. Me…even Hekapoo admitted to giving me her hardest trial since she thought I was a thief who was lying to her."

"You don't mean…" One of the warriors barely whispered.

"She had me chase her across her dimension, dealing with hundreds of clones before I reached the real her."

"That could take lifetimes."

"He looks so young."

"That's impossible,"

"He has to be lying."

"I did hear of a champion was brought by Hekapoo I do think his name was Marco."

Everyone began to talk amongst themselves.

Maximus spoke, "Those who've defeated her trials often go down as legends. They're considering the most powerful and persistent warriors of the multiverse."

Marco didn't know what to say about that.

Seraph chuckled to herself hearing everyone talk about her dad like that. Even then people were having trouble believing a human could do such a feat. Many refused to believe it was even possible.

"Hey, yeah, excuse me," Someone poked one of the warriors. "Trying to get through. Move or be moved."

They moved over and then almost stumbled over their feet seeing who it was.

The warriors moved away realizing it was Hekapoo. Even Maximus got off from his chair which Hekapoo quickly took.

"I took the liberty of ordering for you," Marco told her casually. "I got you a manferb steak, I asked them to put some of those bacon bits you like."

Hekapoo's eye lit up, "Yum."

Many warriors took this as their cue to leave.

Maximus said simply, "I'll leave you to your meal. I do hope to face you in competition."

Marco waved him goodbye.

Roman simply said, "Enjoy your meal, you will be an interesting challenge."

"So what have you guys been up to?" Hekapoo asked.

"Oh, dad has been intimidating the competition." Seraph smiled gleefully.

"That's a good," Hekapoo matched her smirk. "You are the champion of Hekapoo." She turned to Marco, "Make sure people know that, make sure they respect that fact and make sure they think twice before messing with you. You passed my trials Marco and that means something."

"So I'm getting," Marco told her.

Star and Sensei both looked at Marco understanding what significance his passing the trail held. Sensei felt pride in the young man he helps train, he knew that his training only helps so much but was glad to do anything to help him.

Star thought about it for a moment, it was good to see people see her bestie as amazing as she saw him. Marco often didn't think he was amazing but maybe now he'd start to see it too.

Some of the wait staff brought over their food and they started to eat.

0000

A tall beautiful woman, Lu Shanu, was walking back to the barracks, she was one of the contestants. She was from a clan of demons that loved battle and fought with esteem and honor. She wore silvery armor over simple robes. Her skin was a bright red and she had bull-like horns. She didn't need to eat much, her species only ate once a month.

She'd decided to shop at one of the stalls to get something for her weapons. After the events of the day she decided to try and sharpen it a bit, she'd need everything she had should she face that vampire. Lu Shanu even thought about going to get healed with the sisters but decided against it. Her species healed quickly with a night's rest he should be fine by morning. She was rather confident that she could go far in this tournament.

She walked the empty streets, it was getting late and the shops and stalls closed up knowing that all the guest would be down by the river where the festival would be held.

As she walked a man in brown robes passed her, a sense of danger overwhelmed her and she pulled out a pair of iron fans just barely blocking the dagger. In the instant after he passed her the robed figured pulled it out and attacked, only experience and fast reflexes saved her.

Any inexperienced person would not have reacted in time, a second hesitation would have let her get hit.

"What are you doing?" Lu Shanu growled. "Contestants are prohibited from fighting one another outside the tournament." She studied the man, "You're not a contestant."

Lu Shanu could tell the person before her was a skilled fighter but there was something off. The way they held themselves seemed off, there was no real fight behind it. They weren't fighting for himself or any interest but just going through the motions.

The stranger fought as naturally as it was to breathe but the intention behind their moments wasn't natural. They attacked her so he didn't intend to give them another shot. She'd take them down, spare their life, and turn them in and let the authorities deal with him. She charged at them quickly slashing away with the fans razor edge.

As she pulled back Lu Shanu snarled, "You are quick."

With such little time, there wasn't enough time to move away but they moved just enough between slashes to avoid getting hit.

Whoever they were, they clearly didn't want their identity discovered. They kept their hood on and make sure they were covered. They wore a hood hiding their features but a faint green glow shone from within.

Lu Shanu readied her fans to strike again, the attacker waved their arms in a circle and energy swirled around them as they did.

It took her by surprise and a ball of energy formed and struck her. Lu Shanu was launched backward and into a wall. Before she could get up she found her attacker above her plunging his dagger into her.

Desperate Lu Shanu tried to pull it out his attacker held it in. The wind picked up around them and it felt like the air was holding her down.

"Don't fight it, it soon will be over."

A bolt of green lightning coursed from the dagger into the fan user.

Lu Shanu gasped as the blackness overtook him.

The attacker pulled out the dagger and walked away leaving her there. They did what they came to do. They knew full well that others were doing the same thing all around the village and the step of the plan would come to pass.

0000

Star woke up early in her room, she got up with a sour stomach.

"No one should have all you can eat before bed."

Marco insisted she try a drap wrap, it was tasty but she had too much and it was really spicy. As she walked down the halls she heard Sensei snore from his room. Star was surprised he was still alive, she was sure one dish he picked out was poisonous. They actually thought he might have died at one point but he just ate himself into a food coma.

She peeked into one of the rooms, Hekapoo and Seraph shared the room. Seraph slept soundly cuddling next to her mother, Hekapoo seemed delighted holding her daughter. She made sure to close the door so not to wake them too soon. They got to spend so little time together and Star didn't have the heart to do anything that might ruin any moment they got.

She heard something from the last room and opened the door to find Marco doing shirtless push-ups.

"90, 91, 92-"

"Ah, Marco is that a good idea? You spent all day yesterday fighting and now you're going to that again."

Marco paused, "Don't worry Star I'm not doing a full work out, just something easy to warm up."

Star stepped over him and got into his bed looking up at the ceiling.

"Marco?" Star began, "We're still besties, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Marco stopped his push-ups.

"We can talk about anything, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

Marco got up grabbing a towel to wipe his sweat. "Go ahead,"

Star tried not to look at his chest which had gotten very toned.

"Uh, I was wondering something… what's going on with you and Hekapoo? Are you an item or something?" Star looked away her cheeks blushing a little as she spoke. "I mean, have you two done anything since you got back from her dimension or something?"

Marco reached over and put on a shirt.

"Did my parents ask you to ask me? Because I told them-"

"No, no, no! I'm just … curious."

"Oh," Marco sighed, "No, we're not anything and we haven't done anything since…. since, well, the night before you showed up… It was the night before when we made Seraph."

Star blinked at him, "So if I had shown up just a little earlier like even seconds… your daughter might not have been born?"

Star stared at the implications of the statement, the thought itself gave her a series conflicted feelings.

She would rather have Seraph alive but she couldn't help and think that things would really be easier and maybe better if Star found the portal just a few seconds earlier. She hated having that thought.

"So, you are Hekapoo aren't anything?"

"We're parents," Marco gave her an odd expression.

"I mean-"

"No, I know what you mean. We're not a couple, everything we had was casual." Marco told her, over the last few weeks of explaining it over and over again he'd come to the same conclusion. "Well, we're still friends and I guess I'm her champion… whatever that means."

"It's a fancy title, like a knight or a representative of the land." Star explained, "Calling you out as her champion means that she thinks a lot about you. Enough to have you basically represent her and her dimension."

"Oh… that was a lot more than I thought it meant."

Star looked at Marco and sometimes she felt like he was moving away from her and soon would beyond her reach forever.

"I guess I should get breakfast, today is gonna be busy." Marco paused, "You want to come with me to get breakfast for everyone?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, it feels like we haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together lately, this might not be much but we can talk for a bit."

Star smiled, "Okay, let's get some food."

0000

Wukong was not having a good morning, several fighters were found all over the village hurt. They were all rushed to the healers.

Luckily for him, none of them had described their attackers as anyone who even resembled any of the contestants. The only guess they had was that the attackers were hired by gamblers to better their odds at winning.

They were talking with all those attacked that morning.

Lord Wukong was talking to all those hurt himself, Lu Shanu told him about the attacker.

Lu Shanu seemed to be the only fighter to get a good look at her attacker. Most of the other fighters were attacked and taken by surprise and taken down quickly or didn't get a good look. Most only describing them as wearing hooded cloaks.

That wasn't much to go on, plenty of people wore cloaks especially travelers from other dimensions.

"My deepest apologies for what has happened." Wukong bowed to Lu Shanu, "I have my guards double their patrols around the city. The healers say you are fully recovered and are still fully eligible for the tournament. I fully invite you to continue on."

"I will do that," Nodded Lu Shanu, "I think I just need a moment to rest."

"I will leave you to your rest," Wukong told her, bowing once more before leaving.

As he left the recovery room Lu Shanu noticed a man in a hooded cloak waiting for him, the man in the cloak his advisor Buta. The cloak looked awfully similar to the one that her attacker had.

Lu Shanu had her suspicions, there had been rumors of descent in the Lord's court, talk about people seeing him weak and worthy of his title. Could there be people that wanted to make him seem incompetent?

His father had been a strong man, one of confidence, one whose voice demanded respect and silence and a warrior in his own way. His son was much different, Wukong was a polite, a bit timid, always apologizing for his mistake and trying to appease everyone around him.

This was a big event if something really went wrong it could lead to his ruin. Lu Shanu had no evidence that his advisor had anything to do with this but Lu Shanu felt something about the advisor. Something him felt similar, something like he sensed from the attacker.

0000

Star and Marco walked down to the village and picked up some food from the vendors before returning back to their barracks.

Star had enjoyed it, it was just them talking and making jokes, and almost getting eaten by a fruit. It was like how things were before.

Star marveled at how good Marco was good at haggling with the vendors, just judging by how much food they had gotten paying so little. "Wow, didn't know you were so good at finding a bargain."

"Oh, it's nothing." Marco waved her off. "I've learned how to stretch your money. Sometimes I didn't have a lot of money for a long time and foraging can be hard in some places. Most people for events like this raise their price so you can talk them down to lowering the price if you know how to talk to them."

Star thought for a moment, "You had to work while you were on that trial?"

"Yeah, mostly doing jobs for people. Going on quests for people, fighting for them, going on some adventures for them most of the time it was pretty fun."

"You had fun on those adventures?"

"Yeah, they were hard sometimes but it was great. I had to explore mountains searching, run through the monster-infested jungle looking for a treasure or fight some sort of monster for days in a dry desert."

"Okay, that does sound cool must have been nice to camp out with people?"

"I guess, but most of the time I was by myself."

"Sounds a bit lonely."

"Not really, it was fun to explore and being by myself so much. I got to really find out what I could do and my limits, and just got to find out who I was."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I actually miss that sometimes. Sometimes I kinda just want to go out into the multiverse on my own and explore. Sometimes I just miss going on adventures every day."

Star stared at her friend, she had the sickly feeling that one day he would leave on one of those adventures and maybe not want to come back.

"We probably have enough food, we should head back." It was all that Star could think to say.

0000

The tournament had started, the contestants were all divided and sorted at random.

The first two matched together were Noire and a woman known as Dia.

Hekapoo, Seraph, and Star sat in the box seats.

Star was curious and asked Hekapoo, "Do you think she can be beaten? The vampire lady, I mean."

"Yeah, she does seem pretty strong." Seraph was nervous thinking about her father fighting her father.

"Maybe," Hekapoo admitted, "these rounds aren't about beating your opponent. If Marco can last for five minutes against her until the round ends then the judges will decide the winner. If they think he fought better than her then he could win like that. But straight up beat her…. I guess its possible but it will be hard." Hekapoo scratched her head, "It's hard to gauge Marco's potential. He's not the strongest or fastest but he's crafty. He thinks on his feet, and he's good at finding a way to get what he wants and when pushed into the corner he can pull out a win sometimes. The harder the challenge the more Marco rises to meet it."

0000

The vampire Noire stood on the platform, her black gown flowing a little because of the light breeze. Standing before her was a young woman wearing an orange leotard and her brown hair done in pigtails.

The announcer floated at the side of the platform, he was a short fellow wearing brown tunic and wearing a pair of large goggles that made his green eyes look huge. He held a small bullhorn and his voice rang out through the whole stadium.

"It's a pleasure to be here with you all today." His voice was bubbly, "I'm your announcer Chaucer and let's get the fight underway."

"As we enter the second round of tournament we begin the one on one matches. The forty finalist will fight each other throughout the day until the number was smaller. Then we will get into the third round, let's get to that when we get to it. For now, the contestants will fight, this first matchup features two lovely ladies."

Chaucer waved over to Noire, "First off, the Vampire Lady from the Lands of Light and Shadow the Vampire Knight Noire."

There were some claps from the audience some polite, some genuine, some scared of how she might react otherwise. Noire herself didn't seem to take in anything they did to heart, she looked stoically at her opened.

"On the other side, we have the hero from Matrona, Dia Fey. But enough of that now, Ladies, Gentlemen, and others let the match begin."

The Referees floated over the platform and gave the signal to begin.

Dia cracked her knuckles, "Aren't you going to pull out your sword?"

Noire simply replied, "I doubt I'll need to draw it."

Dia smirked, "I guess I'll just have to make you draw it."

"You are free to try but you might regret your attempt."

Dia shrugged, "I guess I'll just stop holding back."

Dia started to glow and soon her form changed and grew, after a moment she stood above Noire as a giant forty meters tall.

0000

"Oh, she's a giant," Hekapoo said out loud. "I guess for the melee fight it wouldn't have been smart, too hard just to stay in the ring and not to step on anyone."

"How did she do that? I thought you can't use magic in the fights?" Seraph questioned.

"It's a natural ability some giants have," Hekapoo told her. "When giants have kids with… smaller species sometimes their kids get a shifter ability. It lets them transform from their size to their giant size."

"Okay, so a giant versus a powerful vampire." Star glanced at the battlefield before them. "This is gonna be good."

The whole stadium shook and so did the surrounding area, it was as if several Earthquakes had struck one right after another. In the box seats, the girls had to hold onto their seat not to shake off.

Dia started the fight quickly by striking the ground with a series of punches, each punch landing straight on the vampire. The platform started to crack with the first blow, soon a large crater had formed.

Then all of a sudden the punches stopped.

The giant's arm trembled and soon the audience saw why. A lot of dust had gotten picked up by the attacks but as it cleared they saw the vampire rise from the crater holding back the punch with one hand. Her other hand fell to the side limply, her dress was a mess and blood escaped from her mouth as her jaw shoved itself back in place.

"I suppose I should have expected that from a giant." Noire almost smiled.

Dia grit her teeth and pressed forwards, the ground beneath Noire's feet cracked. Noire huffed and grunted before pushing forwards and quickly pulled back and punched.

Dia stumbled backward before punching again only for her punch to meet the vampire's punch.

As they collided the force was enough the push all the air around them away at such force that the announcer was tossed back.

They moved back and Noire raced forwards and kicked forcing the giant's head back. Forcing forwards she punched upwards.

To everyone's surprise, the giant was flung high into the air. Noire bent her knees and jumped into the air to follow her, ready to deliver another blow. Noire could not land a hit as the giant shifted into her smaller form just dodging the attack. Dia reacted quickly and shifted back into her larger form and grabbed the vampire. As they started to fall, Dia hurled Noire straight into the ground and a moment later stomped onto her.

The battle looked done but then Dia screamed, a blade of crystal jetted through her foot. She raised her foot only for a blur to escape and strike her other foot and with a terrible crack, she fell forwards.

It was a like blur of black that moved to her side and leaped at her neck. The audience all gasped the giant collapsed to the ground and changed back to her smaller size.

Landing at her side was Noire, she leaped up, her sword drawn and aimed at the giant's neck. With a flash of light, the giant vanished before the attack landed.

"That's the match!" Chaucer let out trying to raise himself from the ground where he landed. "Victory to Lady Noire, I don't think anyone us expected to see … whatever just happened. So yay!"

Noire simply placed her sword back into her scabbard and held her broken arm as she left the platform.

"Okay, we're gonna take ten minutes to get the next contestants out and … fix the platform." Chaucer announced as he looked at the damage.

0000

Marco and Sensei waited in the private room given to them to prepare for the fights. They watched the fight on a screen.

"Uh…" Sensei began, "Marco are you sure you want to continue? I mean that seemed-"

"Awesome!"

"Yeah, but like crazy too."

"Yeah, I didn't expect the giant but…"

"But what?"

"One thing I learned from my time at Hekapoo's dimension was to pay attention and learn. Learn as much as I can about those I might fight and use it when fighting them."

"You have a plan?"

"Not as much," Marco admitted. "I have an idea, a plan doesn't tend to survive meeting an enemy and you have to figure it out as it happens."

Marco wasn't stupid, and he was careful. Everything in his time in Hekapoo dimension taught him to think on his feet. Now it looked like he'd have to test out those skills.

Sensei looked proudly at Marco but with a worried look, "Marco? You made a mistake. You shouldn't have trained with me. You should have found someone more at your new level."

Marco looked at him, "Sensei, you're wrong. I mean, I have been thinking of finding a new teacher for a while but thinking about it, it wasn't right. I think it was best for me to start over and go back to the man who taught me the basics."

Sensei smiled hearing that from his student.

0000

Marco and Sensei stood on the sidelines, for the second round the contestants could have people waiting for them right out of the platform. Mostly coaches, aids, and support and the alike, Sensei would be there to help in any way he could and if needed throw in the towel for Marco.

Sensei didn't want to do it, not when Marco was trying so hard to push himself but he didn't want to see him get hurt either.

Marco stretched a little to limber up, after the next battle he'd be up.

At the moment they watched the current battle and the contestants that waited for it to start.

A skeletal man in a red and black robe with yellow horn on the hood, he was the user of lightning in the previous battle. Against him waited for Kaagh. The skeletal man danced around ready to dodge and Kaagh didn't bother to waste the energy.

The guy in the red robe was talking smack as the battle was about to start. "You and everyone else will fall to my awesome lightning!" He let sparks shoot from his hand.

No one was really listening to him.

"Hey, Marco,"

Marco stopped his stretching to find Hekapoo standing there holding a bucket of popcorn.

"Hekapoo? What are you doing here?"

"Snack run, I just decided to show up and wish you luck in person."

"Oh, thanks."

"Just stay on your toes… and remember your promise."

Sensei glanced at Marco, Marco just scratched his head, "Yeah, I intend to keep it."

"You'd better or you'd have me to answer to."

"Begin!" Chaucer yelled out.

"Come on! You think you can take my lightning?" The robed fighter hopped around with his fist up.

Kaagh looked at him bored, "If you think that will be enough to beat me then take your shot."

"Pffft! Fine, I'll just do that! Get ready to be a fried potato." Green lightning started to crackle off his gloved hands.

Kaagh rushed him and he fired all the bolts he could muster at him.

The energy hit Kaagh right in the chest but it didn't stop him, instead, he rushed through it taking the blow and rushing his opponent. Kaagh caught him by surprise and landing a punching right in his chin knocking a tooth out, Kaagh grabbed him and hurled him out of the platform.

Hekapoo and Marco both took a step back and Marco yanked Sensei back too just in time to avoid the combatant slamming into them.

He slammed right into the wall behind them.

Marco asked him, "Ah, you okay?"

He blinked before looking at Hekapoo, "Uh, Hey~"

"What?" Hekapoo asked.

"Hey good looking, you came here for me?"

"Uh? I have no idea who you are." Hekapoo cringed.

"Don't be silly I'd recognize those horns anywhere. You wanna go out?"

"No, no, never, just no."

The guy then got teleported away.

"That might have been fastest fight ever at any Battle Nexus Tournament," Chaucer announced as they teleported him away. "It looks like it even took some of our judges by surprise. Kaagh of Sontar is the winner!"

"Sir! Sir! Sir!" A small fellow with a head that seemed to consist of a red eyeball on a small frail looking body came rushing looking for the loser.

"They teleported him to the infirmary." Hekapoo pointed in the general direction.

The eye guy paused and looked at her for a moment as if to try and place where'd he'd seen her. "Uh, thanks." He walked away.

Hekapoo shrugged, "I have never seen them before. I guess I'll leave you to it. The girls are probably waiting for the popcorn. Good luck."

Marco watched her leave.

Kaagh walked off the platform and paused by Marco, "We didn't get to finish our battle. I expect to meet you in the future matches."

Marco watched him walk away, one way or another Marco was sure they'd have a fight.

A few short moment Marco and Sensei waited by the platform, Marco was up next to fight.

Sensei questioned his student, "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Maybe a bit nervous," Marco admitted quietly, "I mean, this is a big tournament with a lot of good fighters. A lot of people with powers and tricks and I'm just me. I don't care if I win or not I just don't want screw up in front of everyone. Especially with everyone thinking I'm supposed to be able to hold my own."

Sensei looked at his student, he'd grown up so much and if he was going to encourage him then he'd return the favor.

Sensei patted Marco's arm, "Marco, you are amazing. You earned those scissors even if it took you 16 years, those guys last night were all amazed that you did that! You fight monsters! You go on crazy adventures! You're a great father! You know how many people who find out they have a daughter like that would panic but you do everything you can to give her a home. Marco, you don't have any powers like them but I doubt any of them have a heart as strong as yours. You don't give up. I am proud to be your sensei." Then he bowed to Marco. "Marco, you are more than ready to be here, just have some confidence in yourself. I know you'll do great."

"But-"

Sensei wasn't going to hear it, he turned to Marco and pointed at the Box Seats. Marco looked to see Hekapoo arriving, Star and Seraph spotting him and waving at him.

"Marco, I know you are going to do your best. When you get up there you're going to do your best because she's gonna be watching you. You won't be anything less than your best for her."

Marco felt his heart beat stronger and he took a deep breath and started his walk to the platform and to his first fight.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hey I'm back! Why do soon? Well, I avoid spending time with my family. They be crazy so I mostly stayed by myself eating cold pizza.**

 **What was point? Here's an update. Next Chapter we will get to see Marco have some one on one fights. Anyway, tell me what you guys think. Also, thank you for all the kind reviews last chapter. It really encouraged me to write this chapter out and overall just get me through a rather boring night. Thanks.**


	9. Chapter 9: Round 2

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

* * *

Chapter 09: Round 2

Marco stood on the platform and looked at his opponent.

His opponent was 3-4 times taller than him and was a large blue man-beetle. He had four arms and had just as many weapons strapped on his back.

Chaucer started to announce, "On one end we've got the Warrior of Nazarick, Chieftain of the warrior Clan of lizard-men the Dragon Tooth Clan, Styx."

The crowd cheered apparently hearing of this warrior.

"On the other hand in their first showing to the tournament and the first representative of his world to show to the Battle Nexus I'm happy to introduce Marco Diaz."

The crowd applauded politely.

It looked like a one-sided fight even Chaucer pointed it out, "Yeah, this looks like someone is out of their weight class but this is done all at random. Besides, any warrior worth their salt has to be able to overcome the odds. You got to be the best of the best if you are gonna make it here. But fret not folks, this newcomer isn't without some history. Those of you who saw yesterday's fight might recognize him as the fighter who managed to hold off the vampire knight." A few murmurs came from the crowd, "Marco might not look like much but I've done some digging. That fancy sword of his is actually a pair of dimensional scissors he himself earned from Hekapoo herself." More talk was heard from the crowd. "Yes, there has been a rumor that Hekapoo herself has brought a champion of her own and this half-sized human is it."

Marco got what the announcer was doing, he was trying to get the crowd worked up for the fight.

"It just goes to show that you shouldn't judge a book by their cover." Chaucer raised his hand, "But enough talk lets get this rumble going. Warriors draw your weapons."

Marco pulled out his scissors and quickly changed them into his sword to the cheer of the crowd.

Styx pulled out a rather large halberd.

"Begin!"

Styx began by stabbing at Marco, Marco rolled to the side to avoid the attack. He was going to try and avoid a direct fight as he tried to gage Styx.

From what Marco could tell that was that Styx was stronger than him but not as fast, he used the polearm like weapon to bridge the gap between them.

Marco knew he couldn't just dodge he'd have to fight if he intended to win.

Marco rushed at the big beetle had a chance to attack. Styx wasn't going to be caught by surprise and swung the halberd at Marco.

THUNK.

Marco's sword collided with the halberd, Marco huffed as he pressed the blade, his feet skidding as he was pushed back.

"You reacted quickly." Styx told him, "Your blade is strong, it won't be enough though. Quit before I hurt you." Styx didn't sound condescending if anything he sounded concerned. It felt like he was actually worried he'd hurt Marco.

"Not yet." Marco pushed more forcing the beetle to press more.

Marco quickly ducked letting the halberd swing pass him, he jumped up and swung down the sword through the halberd cutting it into.

Styx tossed the weapon to the side as he pulled out a lance.

Marco deflected the first blow and moved closer to Styx.

Closer now he could see that Styx's skin was thick and armor-like. Making a good blow was gonna be hard. He was big, and his center of gravity was low, he'd be like trying to knock down a sumo wrestler.

Styx turned the lance and stabbed at Marco, Marco moved and fell back.

Marco took a deep breath and tried to relax. If the fight he had with Hekapoo taught him anything it was that those experiences from his trial were not gone, the right stimuli could help bring them back. Trying to drag back the memories didn't work, he couldn't force them. This was just another fight, like any fight with any monster he just needed to let his instinct take hold, every memory every experience led him to how to act.

An idea struck him, he'd need to force his way close. The major problem was the spear he held, even if he got passed it he'd probably pull out a sword to fight Marco close range.

Marco charged and Styx stabbed at him, Marco kept running towards it. As death approached Marco continued on, he needed to time this outright, at the last possible instance he stepped aside and let the spear move pass him. Styx expected him to block it not rush it, that caused him not to react right away.

Marco continued to run, Styx realizing the spear would be useless at this point he tossed it aside and pulled out one of the swords on his back. Marco moved behind him and with his sword firmly in hand slammed its hilt behind Styx's knee.

When fighting monsters Marco had gotten a good idea of where to hit, anything with a knee tended to buckle when you hit it. Suddenly Styx's weight shifted to the side and he toppled over. Just what Marco expected jumped on the falling warrior and used his weight to force him down. He pressed his sword to where the bug's head met his shoulder, right between the plates that formed his skin.

A gong rang out.

"The match is over!" Chaucer let out. "Marco has immobilized Styx! The judges rule it a victory for Marco."

The crowd cheered for the surprising turn of events.

The reasoning was that Marco had put Styx in a position where he couldn't continue the fight if Styx had tried to get up or even tried to reach for his last weapon he'd force the blade into his neck. Marco stopped before he could do any real damage and thus left everything up to Styx. It was either serious injury or a loss, the judge decided that was enough.

Marco hopped off him, "Are you okay? I would help you up but-"

"No, I'm fine." Styx got up dusting himself off. "Thank you for fight. I didn't expect you run at my spear like that, took me by surprise. The Bold tactic, one that had paid off for you."

"Well, you weren't going to make it easy so I had to try something bold."

Styx spoke in a hearty and warm tone, "I wish you luck in the rest of the tournament."

Marco bowed to his opponent, "Thanks, do you need to go to the healers?"

"Worry not, I think I just need to ice my knee."

Both of them parted on good terms.

0000

At the healers Dia was finished healing, she looked at her foot, the wound now healed.

She had tried her best and did a rather spectacular battle. She fought one of the strongest fighters and even loosing she managed to wound her.

"Dia is it?"

The giant looked up to find the vampire standing before her. "I wanted to thank you for the fight. It has been a rather long time since I've had such a challenge."

"Oh, well, yeah you fought good too."

The healer Fraus came over, "Oh, do you need healing too? I would be glad to help."

Noire said, "Yes, my arm seems to be rather broken."

"Well, I'm sure I can help with that."

0000

"Dad! Dad!" Seraph jumped on her father.

Marco and Sensei had some time so they went to check in on the girls after the fight.

"That was awesome dad!" Seraph was absolutely ecstatic.

"You just took that big guy down! Boom!" Star punched the air.

"Don't go flattering him like that." Hekapoo told them, "it will give him a big head before his next fight, this isn't all over yet." She did turn to Marco, "But you did pretty good."

"Good," Sensei told, "you did great Marco for now just try to rest before your up again. Now let's just sit down and watch some of the other fights and see what the other fighters bring."

Marco sat down with them and watched as Maximus fought some sort of bird man with robotic legs. Maximus was having a hard time landing a blow as each and everyone one seemed to be blocked by some sort of force shield.

0000

The first part was done, 40 had brought down to 20. The matchups were randomly picked.

This time Marco's match was first up, he didn't mind as it left the rest of this round for him to rest.

"First up, the scissor-sword wielding fighter Marco Diaz," Chaucer announced him.

Marco was a bit happy to hear so many people cheering for him but he tried to focus on his fight.

"Against him, a challenger who refuses to give his name. The man of mystery, The Masked Viking!"

The shirtless Viking stood before Marco.

"Wait-" the Viking paused up close he recognize the name, "M-Marco?" He raised his mask a bit, revealing he was River underneath the mask. "Marco, what are you doing here?" He hadn't recognized Marco before because the mask made it a bit difficult to see and he didn't pay attention to the other fights.

"Huh? I entered the tournament."

"Same, sometimes I just need to get out and rough it a bit."

"What's with the mask?"

"Oh, my wife thinks thing like this might be a bit undignified. So trying to keep this a bit quiet."

"Oh, I hear you. I won't say a thing."

"Thank you…Oh, is Star with you?"

Marco nodded pointing to box seat. "She came along for support."

"Oh, well, Marco I do like you but I won't go easy on you. If my daughter is here I refuse to lose before her. I hope you understand. Let's have a fair duel, let's not use any weapons and just settled this the old fashion way, with our hands."

"That sounds great." Marco smiled, he'd rather not pull a weapon on the king. "I understand, I won't hold back either do, my daughter is here too so I don-"

"Daughter?"

"Yeah, didn't Star tell you I have a daughter." Marco pointed back to the box seats.

Seraph had made an impromptu banner that said, 'Good luck Dad!'

Star was shooting sparks from her wand trying to get his attention.

Marco gave them a small wave.

King Moon lifted his mask just barely making out the girl next to his daughter. "You have a daughter?" He noticed some familiar traits between Marco and the girl.

"Yeah, it's a little weird she's a teenager but-"

"You have a daughter!"

"…uh, Yeah."

"What did you do to my little girl?"

"What?"

"And Go!" Chaucer finished getting the crowd pumped.

King Butterfly pulled out his ax, "You and my daughter had a child and didn't even tell me?!"

"Uh, River-" Marco held out his hands but pulled back barely avoiding the ax. "We aren't dating! I told you that before!"

Marco was forced to dodge the ax blade from the enraged king.

0000

Chaucer commented, "Wow, the Masked Viking is really going for it. First swing and everything. Looks like he's really giving it his all. I'd almost think he's trying to kill him."

The girls looked on shocked.

"Why is dad running away?" Seraph stared at the fight.

"Does that Viking look familiar?" Hekapoo squinted.

"You know, he actually does," Star confirmed.

0000

Marco was running for his life, River swinging at his head.

"River! Stop!" Marco dodged another swing.

"You have your way with my daughter and get her pregnant and expect me to stop!"

"Star is not the mother!"

"And you cheated on my daughter!"

Marco dodged another blow, King Butterfly was fighting wildly and putting a lot of force behind the attacks so it was easy to read and avoid. Marco just punched him right in the face when he left himself open. Stunned Marco grabbed him and flipped him outside the platform.

"And it's over!" Chaucer announced. "I actually thought someone would die there. Okay, we should teleport him away."

"No!" Marco stopped them. "I know him. I'll just get him some ice!"

"Okay," Chaucer said, "good sportsmanship! Love seeing that!"

As the crowd cheered Marco helped River get up.

"We will take it from here."

Marco noted two attendants walk to the King's side, the same ones that came with him on his hunts.

One of them Marco knew as Manfred, "Oh, hello Marco."

Since Start more often took Marco to Butterfly Castle when she was called back he had gotten a chance to speak to some of the staff.

"Hello Manfred, I think we should get him to your room. From what I heard you two will need to talk. Are we to expect a new heir at Butterfly castle?"

"No!" Marco groaned. "Do you have any idea how to calm him first?"

"Well, since you did keep him from exposing his identity to those healers and letting it get back to Queen Butterfly I suppose I can help."

"Thank you, Manfred."

"Think nothing of it, Marco, by the way, congratulations on your daughter."

"Thanks."

They dragged King Butterfly away.

0000

"This is looking like the match of the transformations" Chaucer announced as the next battle of the round was well underway.

Puri Puri Pearl was a young looking woman with silvery hair had transformed at the start of the battle, at the start of the fight she transformed in a flashy and somewhat long sequence. Her clothes changing into an idol like outfit, flashy sparkly and cute, and a large pearl on the broach on her chest. She also gained cat-like ears and a tail. She seemed like performer rather than a fighter.

Her opponent was an ape called Beppo he activated a power and his hair turned spiky and gold. He went into something of berserker mode, his muscle grew larger and energy radiated from him.

They fought wildly neither slowing down.

"You lack elegance." Pearl winked at the ape. "You have power but no style. Let me teach you."

Beppo roared as they charged for another attack.

"Pretty Love Heart Cannon!" Puri Puri Pearl swung back her fist, now it radiated with power and glowing hearts.

They collided with one another causing a huge explosion.

0000

In Marco's waiting room Marco placed a bag of ice on the king's head and held ready a cup of tea.

Manfred said this tea always helped calm him.

The King came too "Wh?—"

"Here you go."

"Oh thank you." He took the tea and slowly sipped it. "What? Marco?"

"River please relax," Marco told him.

River rubbed his head and sat back down slowly drinking the tea, the aroma itself was pretty calming.

"River, let me explain things. Me and Star aren't dating or anything. We don't have a daughter or anything."

"But you do have a daughter?"

"Yes, her name is Seraph," Marco took out his phone and showed him the picture of her in her Gi.

"She looks a lot like your mother."

"Yeah, she does." Marco smiled taking the phone.

"Whose her mother?"

"Hekapoo."

"Hekapoo? As in the forger of the dimensional scissors?"

"Yeah, I was doing her trial to earn the scissors and we sort of got together a few times. And it seems before I left I got her pregnant. Now we have a daughter together that is a couple of months old but both physically and mentally a teenager. She's living with me because if not she's gonna age really fast. I know it a lot to take in, I found out about her not too long ago."

River just stared at him dumbfounded, "Oh….Marco." River couldn't feel a little bad for the boy. To have all of this put on his plate at once. It was never easy just to become a father and it seemed to come at him all at once

"No, no, don't worry, I know things are a weird but we've managed. Seraph is adjusting to life on Earth and she's doing great in school."

"That's good," River felt horrible for trying to behead him, he knew Marco was a good young man but he could tell he was doing his best to make a life for his daughter. "Marco, if you ever need any help or want to talk you are more than welcome to come to me."

"Thank you… Now I feel a little bad about punching you."

River rubbed his face, "Well, I was trying to kill you. You have a strong right hook."

"Thanks."'

"So you and Hekapoo?"

"Uh, it's complicated-" Marco stopped when the king slapped him on the back.

"Good for you lad,"

Marco's face turned bright red. "We're not an item, we're just friends."

"Yes, of course," River winked at him, "being gentle, I can certainly respect that."

0000

Roman was fighting some sort of rabbit dress in black, but like many would have suspected the wolf was beating the rabbit.

The fight was more heated than expected though. The rabbit known as Nagato, he had soft white hair all over his body and carried a thin katana. He wasn't big or muscly and from what people could tell he relied on speed to fight.

Marco watched the fight on the screen in his room as he tried to relax. Roman tried to grab Nagato but failed to because of the speed. When all the sudden it seemed that there were several Nagato's on the field running around Roman.

"Bunshin no Jutsu" Marco marveled.

While hunting down Hekapoo he had tried to study up on her cloning he heard of a technique where very fast beings could fool the eye by moving fast enough that it seemed there were more. When he returned he actually discovered humans could do it too. Ninjas in the past were said to have actually been able to pull it off with years of intense training. But honestly, Marco had never seen anyone actually pull it off and assumed it a legend.

Roman closed his eyes as all the rabbits charged at him. His ears flickered and mid attack he grabbed the rabbit.

His eyes were not reliable here so he listened for the real one, he grabbed out for the one with the smell of sweat and the one whose heart he heard, He tossed them into the air.

With a flurry of kicks Roman ended the match by kicking his opponent out of the platform.

His fancy footwork allowed him to avoid the sword slashes and with a well-placed kick, it was over.

Roman quickly jumped off the platform and offered the rabbit a hand.

Marco continued to watch for a little more. He impressed what he saw and even more eager to try and meet up the standard the others were setting knowing it wouldn't be easy.

0000

Marco was trying to relax, just stretching his muscles as the next round would get hard. Forty contestants were narrowed down to 20 and then to ten. Marco was honestly surprised he made it this far.

Then ten finalist would fight in another round robin and the last five would fight melee until two were left standing. Then the final match would be the main focus. There was going to be a ceremony before the fight would start. Making it this far was an honor, a lot of skilled warriors had fallen. Marco wasn't sure how he felt about this, he had relied a lot on his sword to protect him. He did earn and he was the one who figured how to use it. It still felt odd to win because of it so much.

There was a knock on the door, and the others walked in.

"You ready?" Sensei smiled.

"Way to go champ! Top ten!" Hekapoo beamed at Marco. "Top ten fighters in the whole Universe!"

Marco shrugged, "Well, I got a bit lucky here and there."

"Lucky?" Star scoffed, "You've been fighting like a pro! You made it through that crazy melee fights and did all those things to slow down the vampire! Then you fought that giant bug guy, and then you like one punched that Viking guy!"

Marco coughed he didn't know how he'd explain that one to Star.

Seraph jumped and hugged her father, "I'm so proud of you dad! It's amazing! You're amazing!" Marco felt so weak while his daughter hugged him. He hugged her back, he never knew how amazing it was to have your kid be proud of you. "Thanks, sweetie."

"So how long until you win this thing?"

Marco blushed, "I don't know about that, we got a few more rounds and matches."

"Oh, by the way, whats the big prize?"'

"Yeah, I never asked," Sensei questioned.

Marco explained, "There is a nice trophy, the winner gets a statue in the hall of champions… Uh, like a hall of all the past winners."

"Then there was some other stuff." Hekapoo added, "The Lord always give a large chunk of treasure, should be filled with gold and jewels."

Marco knew about it, he certainly wouldn't mind having that treasure it would certainly go a long way and help with things with Seraph. Maybe even help start a college fund for her, Marco knew she was interested in art and maybe he could get her into an art school and that would be expensive especially for art supplies.

Hekapoo continued, "Also, lots of the court threw in some stuff. Artifacts, Relics, some magic stuff just to pump up the winner's award. But I guess the major award is the ear of the Lord."

"Wait, what's that?" Star questioned.

"Oh, it's a chance to speak to the ruler, a one on one thing, a lot of winners use it as a chance to ask for something special. The ruler usually listens to the request and if they approve will make it happen. Sometimes the winners ask for a special reward, a special sword, a title, aid to their cause or a favor. It's not a blank check, no ruler would just let someone declare war for them but for the most part, they honor the request."

"So what are you planning on asking for dad?" Seraph asked Marco.

"I don't know," Marco was taken aback by how much faith Seraph had in him.

He knew kids often thought their dads were the strongest person but Seraph really did believe it and the fact that he made it this far had just proven her so far.

Marco was afraid of letting her down.

0000

Lord Wukong stood before the finalist, next to him stood Sister Fraus and the hooded Buta.

In the reserved seats, he spotted all the fall warriors including Styx and River.

Wukong cleared his throat, "Ladies, Gentlemen, and others." He paused as he looked around, "I present you the top ten finalists!"

The crowd cheered with applause.

"Before that," Wukong turned to the fallen and bowed. "I am honored to have all you warriors here. Though you might not have made it to the finals know that you honor your homes and that your skill truly puts you on par with the greatest warriors in the universe."

The fallen honored by his words bowed, "No," he stopped them, "it is I who is honored to be in your presence."

Marco smiled, from what he could gather Wukong was being sincere and it didn't look like his counselors had made that speech. Marco liked that he was showing respect to the fallen.

Roman scoffed, "He's doing it again?"

"Again?" Marco questioned the wolf standing near him.

"He's the ruler of this land, he should show strength at all times but he just continues to show weakness and bow to the weak."

"I thought it was nice," Marco mumbled.

Marco had been around royals for a while now, he certainly got them trying to seem strong and confident to keep people's confidence in them, so he could see where Roman was coming from but he was lenient to the kid who had so much on his shoulders.

Wukong turned to the finalist, "I pleased to introduce the finalist."

"Kaagh of Sontar," The potato-like warrior was stoic as ever as the crowd cheered.

"Maximus of Dramania," The triceratops gladiator raised his fist in the air.

"Roman of the Howling Tribe from Tatakai" The crowd cheered for the hometown hero.

"Princess Puri Puri Pearl of Toei," A young lady with pigtails who wore a bright pink idol outfit spun greeting the crowd.

"Marco Diaz of Earth," Marco nervously waved at the crowd.

0000

Seraph at the box seats yelled at the top of her lungs, "Yeah! Whooooo! That's my dad! Go, Dad!"

Star covered her ears, Hekapoo pushed her back down to her chair, "Sweetie, I think he heard you."

0000

"Tashary Dwelum of Moldoff." A woman with a mace and large hawk wing let her wings spread.

"Lady Noire of the Lands of Shadow and Light," The crowd cheered for her but less than others.

"Lu Shanu from Akisen." The fan user reached for his fan but steadied her hand.

"Tula from Andreamite." A grey-skinned amazon stood tall smiling at the crowd.

"Telemik from dimension Galm." They were a humanoid form made of hardened black mist.

As he finished Wukong held out his staff, "May your battles be thrilling and uh, may you be safe." He had forgotten how he planned to finished this. He'd been trying his best to memorize the speeches they gave him but with everything that happened he was getting very confused.

That why he didn't react when Lu Shanu pulled out her fans and slashed at the robed figure.

Wukong eye's bulged as his lead Counselor Buta was attacked

"Guards!" Wukong called out. He readied his staff.

The robe was torn to reveal a large green gem hanging from a gem around his waist.

Lu Shanu held her fans, "I sensed him, the same power I sensed before, hidden but there."

Roman jumped in and kicked the fan user down.

Wukong stopped him, "Please, I need to hear her."

"My attacker," Lu Shanu told him, "I sensed a power them, from their weapon, the same power that comes from them." He focused her attention on the glowing gem.

Wukong was the rewarded by a kick in the chest and Roman stealing his staff.

Buta took out a green gem and stood beside Roman as Fraus moved to his side.

"Buta what's going on?" Wukong looked around.

The other warriors looked on confused unsure of what to do.

Roman tapped the staff to the ground, his voice echoing through the stadium, "For too long we've been lead by a weak simpering child. He would have us bow to our lessers. Such a man should never be put in the position of power, so it's our duty to take it. To lead everyone with strength and power."

Buta raised his hand and chains appeared around Wukong.

Roman bellowed, "Listen to me! Join me! Help us take back this world! Anyone who fights back, who gets in our way we will consider our enemy!"

Roman turned to the other finalist, "Join me."

"I'm a soldier of justice! Bringer of hope!" Puri Puri Pearl stared at the wolf as she spun her arms in the air. "I will not join in any conquest that inspires fear!"

"I am a knight," Noire pulled out her sword. "I will not join to overthrow a right and justice king."

"Rebellion has its place. To topple the cruel and the unjust and dishonorable," The gladiator dinosaur pulled out his blade. "This isn't a just cause."

Many other warriors seemed to join the sentiment, they prepared to fight Roman.

"So be it."

Buta held out a green gem as it started to glow brighter.

"Buy us a moment," Fraus told him.

The green ranger moved to Roman's side.

Telemik, Tashary, and Tula began to attack the other warriors.

Roman smiled, "I had allies with me moving through the ranks with me."

Marco managed to block a blow from Telemik, Maximus took a blow from Tashry's mace to the head, and Tula punched Puri Puri Pearl.

Puri Puri Pearl bounced away before turning and bouncing back summoning her pearl rapier. "I will not go down that easily."

She looked like an idol but she was a warrior, she pushed back smacking the Amazon back.

"Done!" Buta let out.

Suddenly a faint glowed spread across the stadium and just about all the contestants fallen or not stopped their eyes going blank.

Fraus smiled, "Every one of my sisters have healed has the spell in them. Spells weaved into their bodies as we healed them, infecting them without any sign of detection. Their bodies too weak at the time to fight back."

Marco found himself against everyone else.

"I pay no mind to conquest," Kaagh pulled out his sword, "but this battle has no honor, to make skilled warriors fight in such a manner is disgusting."

He looked at Marco sicked that he was forced to work with him. Out of the finalist they were the only ones not healed, Marco because he wanted to test himself and Kaagh because he thought it was weakness to show any pain.

"So be it," Roman ordered, "my warriors, attack those who will stop us, take any delegates you find. If any other would attempt to stop us we will have hostages."

The crowd started to panic and flee.

0000

Hekapoo tried to open up a portal but failed, "Oh, they got a tramorfidian crystal set up to stop rifts from forming."

"Mom, what's going on?" Seraph questioned.

"We are getting you and Star out from here. You'd both be great targets."

Hekapoo cloned herself several times, "I'll go get Marco and help him beat the big bad wolf. Follow my clones and the rest will help get other people out. So let's go."

0000

The bulk of the fallen warriors had been affected and had started to move out, those not healed like River and Styx were doing their best to fight the others off but they were outnumbered and had to fall back. It didn't help that there were others amongst the ranks who worked with Roman.

"Fight us!" Kaagh demanded Roman.

"Join me," Roman told him. "You are truly skilled warriors. We could do so much together."

"I think not," Kaagh told him. "If I were to conquer this world it would be for the honor of Sontar and not for you."

"So be it." Roman teleported behind Kaagh and plunged his dagger-like claw into a hole on the back of his neck. "Your species has one weakness, correct?"

Kaagh gasped for air before collapsing to the ground.

"You feed through that hole, but it also assures that you never turn your back on your enemy less you die. You can never flee, but it fails you when your enemy is already at your back."

Marco took a step back as he steeled himself.

Roman looked at Marco now truly alone, he waved his hand ordered the others to go away to leave him with Marco.

Marco turned the scissors to a sword and held it steady. Things had gotten serious, he cleared his mind and focused on what was before him.

"Marco, listen to me. You've earned your power, you've earned your right to stand amongst the best. It is the duty of those with power to protect the weak."

"That's true," Marco admitted. "But that doesn't mean you get to take over."

"Doesn't it? If you have the power than you take what you need, and with it, we can shape this world. If not by us someone else would have taken this power. Better us then someone else."

"You all think like this?" Marco looked around at the others.

Buta said, "The young lord is not ready to lead. He seeks to make peace and to please everyone. He wants everyone to be content that is a foolish dream if he tries he will just expend this kingdom and lead it to ruin."

"Maybe it is a dream but it doesn't sound like a bad one. He's just trying to help."

Fraus spoke, "Dream like that cannot work out, dark steps must be taken to ensure anything. Our Founder's dream was to save everyone but after generation, after generation and war after war, we just lose more. With Roman, we can use all these warriors and force all wars to end. We might be stealing their will but we will save so many."

"We can do so much good." Roman told him, "You have a strong heart Marco and are skilled. Please see this."

Marco focused, "I can't be apart of this. I've been apart of rebellions before. Where I come from we rebelled from a bad kingdom, one who wouldn't listen to us and tried to make a more perfect union. It's not perfect but there is one thing that I truly believe in, authority should be derived from the consent of the governed, not from threat of force! Wukong has done nothing but tries to help his people and try to make a better world for everyone and actually listens to other people. You want to make everyone do as you say without any say!"

"Would you prefer the Royals to lead?" Roman gripped the staff. "Like that Butterfly girl, I saw you eating with you?"

"Star?"

"Her family doesn't have the best record, not with monsters or her own people."

"No, maybe not, but Star is different and I've talked to her family, they're not perfect but they do care."

0000

River punched one of the mind controlled warriors, "Sorry about that, not much a choice."

Styx was helping some children and hurt guests onto his back holding them with his many arms. He helped a small girl onto his shoulder, "All right, small one hold on tight."

"Go!" River ordered him, "I'll hold them back, just get them to safety."

River had already sent his attendants ahead helping those they could.

Styx hated leaving but it was for the best, he could get the most people away fastest. He started to run off to get the people to safety. He promised once they were safe to try and come to take more people out.

River cracked his knuckles as the warriors moved to attack him.

0000

An archer under Roman's control fired his arrows at fleeing delegates, flames shot those arrows down.

They were left with one Hekapoo clones who quickly helped a delegate to their feet. "Are you okay?"

"I hurt my leg."

Hekapoo helped the woman get up and lifted her onto her back. "Seraph lets go."

A dark-haired warrior with the gauntlet lunged at Seraph but was stopped as Star blasted her with her wand.

"We have to go," Hekapoo ordered.

Seraph saw the mind controlled warriors dragging people away. "We can't go, there are people who need help! She needs you to get out of here!" Seraph pointed to the woman Hekapoo held.

Star saw her worry, she wanted to help but she could only do so much and wanted to protect her daughter.

Star promised, "I promise you I'll make sure she stays safe. Just go!"

Hekapoo took a breath and raced away.

Star held her wand ready, "Winterstorm Hyper Blow!"

Star began to freeze the warriors and hopefully help some people in need.

0000

"You're an optimist." Roman scowled at Marco. "I was hoping to turn you without the need of the spell."

He turned to Buta. "Tell our warriors to find his daughter, his and Hekapoo's daughter."

Buta used the gem to send the commands.

Marco paled, "What? No!"

"I smelled her, she had your's and Hekapoo's scent. She will be useful to keep Hekapoo from attacking us."

"You are planning to use her to make me follow you too?"

"If I must, you are too skilled to lose, or I can wound you to the point you need healing. Both work."

Roman moved to face off against Marco.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Yup, you've got a lot to be thankful this weekend. My insomnia and the fact that these chapters are pretty short and i'm on a roll got me getting these out. We've got one more chapter for this arc. I might be able to get it out this weekend but lets see how this goes. I have a writting protect due soon and i want to focus on it. I just needed a break so that let me work on this chapter. Okay, let me know what you guys think by leaving a review. And someone get on the tv trope page, we probably need to start to write down the shout outs. Wish me luck people, Imma try to get some sleep.**


	10. Chapter 10: Final Round

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

* * *

Chapter 10: Final Round

Hekapoo was distracted, various clones were running around taking people into the forest to hide. From what she could tell they had a powerful crystal set up keeping her from creating any rift anywhere in the city. The clones had her spare scissors and they were already making rifts in the forest to lead people to safety.

She knew Star was watching Seraph and could only hope they'd get out of the city soon.

She needed to find Marco. Marco was left with the guy behind the coup and who now had a magic staff that could let him be anywhere. Marco would fight him because Marco wouldn't even consider faking a surrender or running away. Not that he had much of a choice, Roman had been using a spell to brainwashing people, Marco might be controlled and turned against them. Hekapoo had no idea what she would do if they took control of Marco. She had to drag Marco away before something happened.

She would have already reached him if not for all the people trying to escape and occasional fighter she needed to knock out. Now the crowds had thinned and it looked like no fighter was around. She rushed down the halls looking for a way to the platform.

"Come on, you okay?"

Hekapoo stopped in one of the corridors of the stadium when she heard someone. She found Sensei with an old lady on his back. He'd been down by the platform with the other support people for the fighters.

"Uh, hi," She greeted him.

"Hey,"

"Why haven't you left yet?"

"Yeah, this lady here couldn't move so I'm helping her."

"Okay, you are gonna wanna find someplace to hide. This whole place is going nuts."

"I think you should be more worried about yourself." Puri Puri Pearl walked towards her. "My master has asked me to retrieve your daughter but stopping you will do."

Hekapoo took out her scissors. "Sensei, get out of here."

"Don't have to tell me twice." He ran off with the old lady.

Hekapoo swaggered over to the princess, "Okay, considering how often I hear you and your boyfriend get brainwashed I'm surprised you're not immune."

Puri pulled out her rapier and without another word, they rushed at one another.

0000

Star and Seraph were running trying to lead some people out of the city. That was when the ground started to shake.

They saw Dia in the not so distance stomping their way. It looked like she was trying to kick something.

"Ah, Star, can you freeze someone that big?" Seraph asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure."

Suddenly something landed near them and groaned, Star ran over and to her surprise found the Masked Viking with his mask breaking apart. "Ugh…"

"Dad?"

The other people kept running so Seraph stopped to see what was happening, "Your dad? Wait, my dad beat your dad!"

"Oh, you're Marco's daughter?" River smiled dizzily, "Hello nice to meet you."

As Dia got closer but someone else reached them first, Noire walked over and pulled out her sword. The wind whirling around them as she prepared to attack.

0000

Roman rushed at Marco but with a feint, he vanished and kicked him in the back. Marco was tossed to the side and slid to a stop.

"You're teleporting." He groaned out, annoyed.

"I need to test my new abilities," Roman told him.

Marco groaned almost sure he had a footprint on his back now. He was furious, this guy just sent every warrior in the tournament after his little girl. He wanted to do nothing more than find her. He stopped himself, she was with Hekapoo and Star, she'd be fine and if he turned around he wouldn't be able to guard at all. He wanted to be there anyway, he wanted to tear the wolf apart. He forced himself to stay calm, he couldn't let his mind be clouded by anger.

"Give up, you are skilled but I can be in your blind spot at any moment." Roman studied Marco, his finger gripping the staff tighter.

Marco climbed on his feet, "I get why you could never get your own pair of scissors." He chuckled, "You have to be willing to keep trying even when it looks impossible." He fixed the grip on his sword and got ready to keep fighting.

0000

Hekapoo hated to be put in closed spaces, it keeps her from moving freely. Her dagger struck her sword, it was a strong metal and she sensed some power. It wouldn't be an easy fight. Using the close quarters Pearl spin kicked in her side. Hekapoo grabbed her foot and slammed into the wall.

She growled this fight would last a while, Pearl was dragging it out so she couldn't stop Roman.

0000

Star had frozen Noire but had to keep blasting the spell just to keep Noire from breaking the ice. If she stopped for a moment the vampire would crack out of it.

Dia was coming their way, "How are we supposed to fight a giant?" Seraph questioned as she tried to help King Butterfly up.

"The thing about giants," River told her, "they are a sturdy race but they have many of the same weakness as we do."

Seraph thought for a moment, "Well, she's a bigger target."

Seraph lets a ball of fireball up in her hand, bigger than she'd allowed before. "Come on, come on." With one swift push, she launched it at the giants face, right at her eyes. It hit and the giant tumbled back in pain.

"Sorry!"

"Don't worry," River assured her, "fire shouldn't hurt her, just sting and blind her for the moment."

"Star lets go!" Seraph told her knowing they didn't have much time to escape.

"Go!" Star let out, "I promised your mom I would make sure you got out, take my dad and run!"

"I can't do that!"

"Go!"

"No!" Seraph refused, "I'm not leaving you."

Star smiled a little, she saw so much of Marco in her. He'd probably say the same thing.

Distracted, the ice shattered, the vampire quickly reached and grabbed Star neck. At the moment Star felt her life being drained away. The wand fell from her hands as she struggled to break free.

"Star!" Seraph yelled rushing to help Star.

Noire quickly grabbed the young girl choking her as well.

"Ser-" Star looked on, feeling her life fade away.

"Star!" A beaten River tried to run to his daughter's aid.

Star mumbled, "Marco…"

Time seemed to stop for Star.

She wanted to see him again, she wanted to bring Seraph back to him. Star didn't want to see him cry over his daughter body. Star's heart ached, she hated that thought, she didn't want to see Marco cry she didn't want to see either of them hurt.

Slowly her eyes rolled back, her eyes flashing bright light and light consuming her. An explosion of energy ripped out of Star launching the vampire into a building.

"I dipped real deep." Star collapsed to the ground Seraph moving to her side.

"What was that?" Seraph question giving her a quick hug, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Star felt so tired.

River reached her and picked Star up, "Ready for another piggyback ride?" He smiled at her.

"Yes, daddy," Star chuckled.

The group began to move quickly before anyone else found them.

0000

Hekapoo had filled the corridor with fire, the warrior was still able to deal with it. The flames were hurting Pearl but not by a lot. Pearl formed a magic bubble around her and moved closer to Hekapoo, Hekapoo was buying time to figure a way to deal with her.

0000

"And I think that was your rib being bruised," Roman said after delivering a kick to Marco's side. With a quick teleport, he kicked the sword from Marco's hand. "You can keep fighting but you're nearly at the point you won't be able to fight, we will just heal you and weave the spell deep into you. Just give up and save yourself some pain."

Marco could barely breathe, he wasn't sure which kick knocked the air out of him but one had. His hands trembled as he tried to get back up.

Roman picked up Marco's sword, "Let's finish this."

Marco looked up and saw the wolf hold up his sword, with a swift movement he plunged the sword down at Marco.

0000

"You have to rest." Seraph got Star and River into an abandoned shop. She hid near the front as a guard. "Rest and we will get out of here when you're better."

"The child of Hekapoo," A voice rang out.

Several warriors began to move towards Seraph.

The Butterflys were weak, willing to fight but weren't able. Seraph would be alone in this one. She took a deep breath, tried to remember everything she had learned in the last week. She just hoped it would be enough.

She didn't know what to do, most of these people were being controlled. It didn't feel right to go all out on them. She wasn't even sure going all out would be able to do anything to them.

Maximus rushed first, Seraph let her fist ignite. She took a note from her father and grabbed his horns, "Sorry!"

Using her strength she twisted him and turned him letting him collide into a stall, his horn smoldering.

Lu Shanu rushed at her next to her sharp fans at the ready, the fans coming down at Seraph and to her surprise, Seraph caught them in her hands. The iron fans quickly melted in her fingers which were still blazing hot. Not giving her another shot Seraph rushed forwards tossing her aside.

Seraph left her guard down as the hawk-winged woman with a mace rushed at her. As she was about to strike her she found herself frozen.

Seraph looked at her to see the Butterflys standing up.

"We're Butterflys." Star groaned out, leaning on her father with her wand held out," We don't back down from a fight."

Both quickly got to Seraph's side, they weren't going to let her fight this alone.

Tula and Telemik stood there with their brainwashed warriors ready to take Seraph away if by force if needed.

0000

Thunk

"What?" Roman let out, the sword was blocked by a flash of light.

The light faded away and Marco held out a large key that blocking the blade.

"I might not use this a lot, but I can always count on it." Marco smiled as he pushed back with the key.

Taking Roman by surprise he kicked at the wolf's leg. Marco jumped up as the wolf moved back in pain dropping his sword. Marco took his sword in one hand and he kept the key in the other to use it as a shield.

Roman, the mages, and Wukong stared in awe.

Wukong only muttered, "He has a key blade… he has dimensional scissors and a key blade."

Roman trembled at the weapon, "No, that's impossible… those are only a myth."

Marco didn't hear what any of them said, his head was spinning after all the injuries Roman had given him, he was struggling to stay conscious. He didn't know how long he could last, he'd have to try and end this quickly. He focused on his opponent ready to end this.

Roman yelled, "What are you?!"

Marco held his weapons tightly, "I'm Seraph's father, I'm Hekapoo's champion, and I'm Star Butterfly's best friend, I'm Marco Diaz and I'm the guy who's going to beat you."

As things started to turn Marco rushed his opponent, Roman in a panic drew out the staff's power.

0000

Hekapoo had decided to fill the hall with flames.

Through the flames, the warrior for justice lunged at Hekapoo but found she could not move.

"Watch your step," Hekapoo smirked.

The walls, ceiling, and floor had started to melt and the warrior started to sink into it. The bubble wrapped itself around her body like a shell, but now it was just holding back the melted material.

Hekapoo chuckled seeing her opponent good and stuck in the muck.

The floor melted Hekapoo sighed as she now needed to look for another way to the platform. She could only hope she got there in time.

0000

Star, River, and Seraph fought every warrior and did everything they could to not hurt them.

After seeing what she did with the fans Seraph grab some sword that was for sale and started to melt them around the warrior to hold them. Her practice on the forge helped, just bending it enough to be workable binding.

Star told her, "Run, We will hold them back."

"No, my dad wouldn't leave you behind so I won't either."

Star smiled reminded of that.

River chuckled, "Well, we shouldn't let your father down. We keep fighting until we win."

"Sounds like a plan!" Star raised her wand.

The three of them moved so they were back to back, none of them wavering at the countless attacks that had turned to them.

0000

Space was punched in the face, well as much as that was possible. Energy rushed out the staff and every ounce were twisting the fabric of space.

"No! Stop!" Wukong warned. "That's too much power!"

His father had warned him about the staff and about how not to push it. That it could be dangerous. its powers were close to limitless but space wasn't, it could bend and break.

Roman didn't understand its power, he was wielding it like a child wielding an ax, it was only a matter of time before he cut something.

Marco rushed along swing both his weapons at the staff and the distorting energy it unleashed. The key glowed ever slightly at the distortion.

It was as if a lock had been seeing the whole distortion had snapped back into its proper place.

"…No." Wukong let out falling backward for cover.

Space expanded backward into an explosion before it collapsed in on itself drawing all the released powers in itself. Simple physics, every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction, Marco negated the first one but didn't account for the fallout or the feedback from the energy.

The staff glowed as the top and exploding in a myriad of light swirling around it, it floated upwards into the newly formed rift.

Roman fell backward and cowered at what he was seeing.

Space was collapsing before them, light and space danced around the rift creating a display few had ever seen before.

It was an equal part beauty as it was equal part horror.

0000

Everyone in the city paused watching the unnatural light coming from the stadium that reached into the sky, opening some sort of portal overhead. The matter was being drawn into it and ripping it apart.

Even those under mind control paused to watch, knowing this could only bring destruction and death.

0000

"Marco!" Wukong yelled. "Cut the chains!"

Marco quickly cut them without hesitation, "How do we stop that?"

"You can't. I have to, this is my families responsibility. We've been this powers caretakers for centuries, it's my responsibility to stop it. I have to if I'm to save everyone here."

"I can help," Marco didn't like leaving a kid younger than him to solve this.

"No, you can't. Just leave get them out of here."

"But-"

"You have a daughter!" Wukong yelled, "Make sure you get back to her."

Wukong said wishing his father had made it back to him.

Stunned Fraus and Buta stared in wonder.

Marco shrunk his weapons, Marco relented dragging them away as fast as he could.

Wukong took a deep breath as he jumped and reached for the staff. He jumped off floating debris desperate to get himself closer, each jump a little closer and little closer to destruction. One last leap and he saw the staff with a swirling green light just below the rift.

The young lord grabbed hold of it and focused all his father's teaching and tried to wield the power of the staff. His father had told him how dangerous it could be and how useful it could be, he had to find a balance that would work for him.

He felt his heart race, he heard it in his ears and prayed for the strength to be a good lord, to be a good person, to be strong enough for this.

The energy swirled around the monarch filling the rift and the twisted area around it expanding outwards.

Roman stared and now found it was time to run, he tried to escape but someone grabbed his foot.

"You will not escape, we shall burn together." Kaagh held his foot, "Sonta-ha sonta-ha sonta-ha!"

Roman struggled to escape the grip of dying alien.

Kaagh chanted his people's battle cry, if he was to die then he would do so without flinching, without hesitation or fear of death and he would take the man that mortally wounded him with him.

Buta pulled away from Marco, "That power-that power!" He rushed towards the light.

"Stop!" Marco called out, but the area around them started to get engulfed by light and soon engulfed Buta along with the others.

Marco pulled back Fraus, everything was being pulled in and as he struggled Marco thought he'd be pulled in too.

Fraus stared, she'd used magic for most of her life but this power was something else, it made everything seem so small in comparison. The more she looked the more it like she was just a speck and she didn't matter at all, all the lives she saved and all those she tried to save were nothing. She stops trying to save herself, Marco was all that held her from the brink.

Marco pulled her along desperate to save them both but he started to get pulled in.

Someone grabbed Marco,"You can't ever make this easy!"

Hekapoo growled holding onto Marco and the sister. One hand held to Marco the other dug deep into the wall. They held on for dear life as the light swirled before closed their eyes hoping to make it through.

The swirl of energy faded and all that was left was Wukong holding the staff now without the lantern. He collapsed onto the ground.

Everything was a mess and tossed around like the aftermath of a tornado.

Marco spotted a small green gem nearby amongst the wreckage and it cracked, it's the light fading.

0000

All around the city the brainwashed warriors collapsed to the ground.

Tula and Telemik watched in shock as their plan began to unravel.

"Double Rainbow Fist Punch!" Star called out as the multicolored attack slammed into them knocking them out.

"We won?" Seraph looked around at all the fallen figures around.

"I think we did." River confirmed.

Yeah!" Both Seraph and River cheered.

0000

As the dust settled Marco checked on Wukong, "Are you still with us?"

"Yes," He rubbed his head, "I don't think Roman, Buta or Kaagh made it. I only survived because the staff managed to save me." He sighed, "It's broken most of its power is gone now."

"That's not too bad, I know someone who gets along with a broken wand."

"I suppose it's a small price to pay for preventing a black hole from forming in the middle of my kingdom."

"Yeah, look at the positive."

Wukong chuckled, just so relieved that it was all over.

"Also congratulations on winning the tournament,"

"Wait, what?" Marco stared confused.

0000

A few hours later the guards round up those who were of the coup and were helping patch up everyone that was hurt.

Hekapoo still whispered, "Never would have thought the sisters would have ended up hurting people in a twisted idea of saving others."

"Yeah, that was weird," Star admitted.

Wukong stood before them and every contestant that felt well enough to show up for the ceremony.

Kneeling before him was Marco, "Okay," Wukong was not even going to try to be proper, "this tournament was a strange one. And I had to disqualify a number of contestants for being apart a coup that wanted to overthrow me. Unfortunately, the healers were planting a spell on several of the finalists, who are in no condition to fight and the outside factors disqualifying them. Another lost his life while fighting Roman." Wukong paused, "This leaves us with one finalist left, the warrior who defeated Roman so I think it's fitting to declare him the winner. Unless anyone objects."

No one said anything, it seemed right. Marco made all the right choices, if by luck or if by fate he had made it to the end of his own power and won.

He placed a thin crown of leaves on Marco's head, "I now declare you the winner of the Battle Nexus Tournament, Marco Diaz."

Wukong bowed to Marco and everyone present bowed as well.

0000

Marco stood with Wukong looking at the gathering of warriors and friends. To celebrate some of the chefs brought food and refreshments to help them all unwind a little. Hekapoo had sent her one of her clones to go get some of the healing potions from another dimension. The potions healed everyone up but they'd be exhausted for a while. At the very least the potions would make sure no one dropped dead. Wukong was summoning healers from other dimensions to check everyone and do any extra healing that might be needed. Also to make sure that the spell was properly removed.

"This feels weird," Marco commented. "I mean, I didn't actually win, I won on a technicality, most of the finalist were disqualified and mostly because outside forces messed with everyone else."

"If you feel so bad about it why don't you come back the next tournament and battle to keep your title. Prove that you did deserve it."

Marco chuckled, "I might just do that."

"In the meantime, we should talk. It's tradition to for the ruler to honor a request…"

"There really isn't anything that I want or need…" Marco felt like he was wasting an opportunity.

"Then let me give you an open invite if you ever wish to talk you are welcome to." Wukong offered with a smile, "I do have an offer for you. My last counselor … was a traitor, I'm looking for a new one how would you be interested?"

"What? Really?"

"Yes, you have a good heart. I need someone like that. I'm still new with all this and I do need counsel."

"I think you're doing fine when push came to shove you jumped into a swirl of energy just to try and save everyone. You want to try and help everyone and get everyone to get along. To try and talk everything out. You might not be able to do it in the end but I think it means a lot that you're trying. I think you'll be fine, just make sure that you stand for something and stand with your convictions."

Wukong smiled recalling a statement that someone else had made, "That does sound like good advice."

As Marco mingled with the others he got many offers. Many offered him sponsorship into their guilds, or to join their teams on a quest, or any number of promised adventures. In the end, Marco turned them down.

Noire spoke to Marco before she headed out, "I would one day wish to have a proper duel with you. If you ever wish, you have my invitation to come to the Lands of Light and Shadows. I would show you my homeland, it's a rare sight few get to see."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

Noire bowed and left as Star walked over, "Marco, I thought you said you want some adventure. Why did you turn everyone down?"

Marco looked over to where Seraph and Hekapoo were talking as Sensei talked to the other warriors about training Marco. "Maybe I changed my mind a little bit. I'm starting to think that maybe my adventure isn't over, maybe this is just the start of a brand new one." He turned to Star smiled hopefully, "Let's go home."

As they walked off River stopped them.

"Going home?" River asked the teens nodded. "Well, I just wanted to remind-"

"Yeah, don't worry we won't tell mom."

"Well, thank you but I wanted to talk to Marco for a moment."

"Okay, bye dad." Star smiled giving a kiss to his cheek.

Alone the king turned to Marco, "Marco, I just wanted you to know that I know how difficult it can be being a father so if you ever want to talk you can come to me."

"Thank you." Marco was indeed touched by the King's concern.

"And as an aside, though it would be first I do not think anyone would be opposed to Mewni having a king with a child from a previous relationship."

"…" Marco blinked, "Ah, R-River we're not-"

River slapped Marco on his arm just walking off.

Marco stared blankly as the king just left.

"Dad!" Seraph called to him, waving him over.

Marco shook his head clear and smiled as he walked over to his daughter and friends.

0000

A few days later at the Dojo Sensei hung up a picture of Marco at the battle tournament as he held his award, Seraph, him, the others and the various warriors around him.

It would serve as a testament to how far his students could go.

"Sensei?" Marco came over with Seraph, "You wanted us here?"

"Yeah, I wanted to show you something." He moved over to the other side of the wall and pulled off a sheet.

There was a plaque that read 'Legacy', and under it had a picture of Marco and Seraph.

"You guys are the first, I figure whenever I get a kid whose parents I taught we can add their picture here too."

Marco looked at the picture and smiled placing an arm around his daughter.

"Are you guys up for tacos?" Sensei asked.

"I could eat." Seraph smiled.

"Yeah, Tacos sounds nice right about now." Marco agreed.

"Awesome! You finally said yes to my taco invite."

"You have never invited me to get tacos."

"I haven't? Who have I been texting?"

0000

Star sat in her room looking over her notebook of spells. This last week Marco and Seraph had worked so far and somehow Marco won the whole tournament.

Marco was pulling ahead but Star wasn't going to fall behind.

Then there was Wukong, he was younger than her and suddenly he had a whole kingdom to take care off. He was putting his all, he was willing to risk his life just to try and protect his people. With everyone doing so much Star felt she had to step up her game. It was time to do more.

She left an apple on her desk and pulled out her wand.

"Levitato!"

0000

Wukong paused in the hall of the fallen warriors. The hall honored warriors who'd fallen in service of the kingdom, to the statue of the erected to Kaagh.

In the end, he died an honorable death and that should be remembered.

The statue had the stoic alien standing with a sword in hand and plaque read: Kaagh the Honorable.

He bowed to the statue and walked off, he'd have to invite Marco when they had his statue ready for the hall of champions.

0000

Up in the mountains of that dimension, Buta struggled to climb the mountain. "Heheheheh!" He laughed to himself as he held a shard his hand that glowed the same light as the lantern.

0000

Marco placed his trophy on his desk in his room and smiled.

He had told his friends about it and most were impressed even though he felt it was a bit of hollow victory.

Janna just told him to take the win, it might have had an Asterix next to it but when the Asterix was that he helped fight off coup that was pretty good Asterix.

The treasure was nice, he could help provide a little more for Seraph and take some of the burdens from his parents, also he could save up for her school and get her all the art supplies she might want. He was also given a mess of magical artifacts that might become useful or he'd sell.

Marco hung up the small key on the wall, on it's very own hook so he could make sure never to lose it again. He gave it a small pat and a smile glad that it stayed with him.

Marco picked up his scissors and turned them into a sword. Quickly he made his way his way to the backyard where Seraph and Hekapoo were waiting.

"Come on dad!" Seraph waved him over.

"Okay, let's start." Marco got into his stance. "Copy my body movement, we're gonna take it slow. Just getting used to the weight of the sword and the movements."

"This is gonna take forever." Hekapoo let her shoulder slump.

Marco smirked, "Well, that just means we get to spend more time together."

Hekapoo huffed, "Yeah, i guess it does."

They got in a row and started to swing the sword slowly, getting used to the motion.

Seraph held the sword tightly, never wanting to let go of the sword that belonged to her parents. Seraph loved having time with her parents and hoped that it would never end.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: And that brings this arc to an end. I hoped you guys liked it. its been a tough weekend, I've been suffering some insomnia and struggling to write a story for this thing I'm working on. My family is a mess so this holiday has been rough for me. So, let me say that I've been truly grateful for all your kind words. I'm so very happy to hear you guys enjoy my story, and I'm glad I was able to finish this arc over a weekend since i hated that I left you guys hanging for it for 3 months. So please leave a review for this one. I'll try to get back to this story but I probably won't post the next chapter for two weeks as I finish a project. I will give you a hint for you guys to look forwards, the next chapter will deal with Seraph meeting more of her family.**


	11. Chapter 11: Crystal Clear

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

* * *

Chapter 11: Crystal Clear

The Diaz household was nice and quiet as it was expected to be at night. Star Butterfly cracked the door open to find Marco fast asleep in bed as he cuddled a plush bunny.

Star had noticed that Marco had become quite a heavy sleeper lately. He'd started to train regularly, usually doing so with Seraph. They would wake up early for a jog with Nachos and the laser puppies. If waking up early was not enough reason for him to sleep he'd kept up with his training at the dojo and special training he did with Seraph to help her control her powers. Honestly, the exercise was doing wonder for Marco he'd certainly gotten fitter and he had built up a fair bit of muscle. He wasn't anywhere near as muscly as he was in Hekapoo realm but Star certainly noticed his chest getting more toned.

At the end of the day when Marco fell to sleep, he was good and out like a light.

Making sure he was asleep Star closed the door and tiptoed her way downstairs. She was on a mission that led her to the kitchen.

To her surprise she found someone in the kitchen eating the cereal she had planned on getting.

Seraph stared at Star with a spoonful of cereal. "Hello, Star."

"Hi! Uh, having cereal?" Star replied.

"Yeah, my dad said I could have a bowl."

She was in her third bowl.

"Yeah, your dad said I could have a bowl too." Star sat down across her and grabbed the box slowly.

Neither girl took their gaze off the other, they each suspected a lie but neither calling the other on it for fear they would be found out.

Star looked at the box of Captain Blanche's Sugar Seed.

The box had all sorts of sticky notes stuck on with all sort of messages from Marco.

'Property of Marco Diaz'

'No Touch!'

'Don't Touch!'

'I will find out!'

'That means you, Star!'

"Seraph, you can only have one bowl a day! Don't overdo it!"

Star grabbed a bowl and served herself a bowl and poured out some milk.

The girls were silent as they ate, neither really sure what to say in the situation.

"So, how're things going with your dad? Everything good?" Star tried to break the silence.

"Yeah, pretty much." Seraph not sure what else to say.

"Yeah, I can't see myself waking up that early to run."

Star was doing her best to do small talk but it was hard. She had never been left alone with Seraph. It's not that Star disliked Seraph, it was just when left alone with her Star couldn't help but be reminded of Hekapoo and Marco's time together and that made her feel weird. It was easy enough when other people around to take her mind off things, but alone together she didn't know how to act.

"It's not too bad, I mean, I like getting to spend some time with dad each morning."

"Must be nice to always have some time to be with Marco." Star had noticed that Marco hadn't spent so much time with her anymore.

Seraph raised an eyebrow at the comment sensing something behind those words but before she could ask a beam zapped Star encasing her in a crystal.

"What?" Seraph moved back startled by it.

She quickly found a large man with a crystal for a head moving towards them. Seraph quickly formed a ball of fire in her hand, "Free her!" Her eyes lit up with flames of anger poured out of her.

Seraph rushed at him and was quickly zapped herself.

Rhombulus let out a sigh looking at both girls encased in crystal. He had only come to get Star but when he saw her with her guard down he had to take her even if there was someone else there. The only problem was that now he had to take the other girl too or someone would figure it out right away.

He pulled out the pair of scissors given to him by Hekapoo and opened a portal. Quickly he pushed the crystals into the portal.

0000

Rhombulus was a bit nervous, Lekmet was on top of the stairs looking down at him, "My Liege. I come bearing an offering of great momentousness should it please thee."

Lekmet bleated, "Baw."

"Uh, well, it's kinda heavy. I was hoping that thee could come down here to see it."

Lekmet sighed and sat down on the stair lift. It began to move down the stairs and then it got stuck.

"Oh, dang! Is that on the fritz too? Oh, hang on. I've got you." Rhombulus hurried up the steps.

Rhombulus carefully picked up Lekmet and stretched his wings a bit with a flap. Carefully he carried him down and placed him on the floor. "So, um, speaking of the inter-dimensional fritz?"

"Baaa?"

"I've been doing some digging on my own and, uh, I think I've found what's causing it."

"Baa?"

"Stay right there. I present to you the source of the fritz." Rhombulus quickly pulled the blanket off the crystal that held Star.

Shocked the demon goat bellowed, "Baaaaa!"

"Evidence? I've got your evidence right here. My gut told me she's evil, so I took her out. Boom! No more fritz."

Lekmet stared at him before letting out a weary bleat, "Bawah."

"Yeah, I know she's Queen Butterfly's daughter, but…"

"Baw!"

"Okay, t-that kinda hurt. I know it came from a good place, you know, but…."

At that moment the socks over his hands burst open revealing a pair of snakes.

His Left arm who I shall refer as Lefty panted, "Okay, Chancellor, for the record, we had nothing to do with this."

Righty burst out with a grunt, "Yeah, we told him it was a horrible plan, but Rock-head here didn't wanna hear it."

Lefty continued, "He never listens to us!"

"But he would listen to you, Lekmet!"

"Tell him, Chancellor!"

"Tell him!"

Lekmet stressed out yelled. "Bawbah!"

Trying to get the situation under control Rhombulus said, "Okay, everybody just calm down! Why don't you sit? I'll grab you a glass of warm milk, and then we can talk this out like rational people."

As he opened up the refrigerator Seraph still encased in the crystal fell out.

Lekmet stared dumbfounded as his eyes bulged, "Baaaaa!"

"Oh, her? Well, I'm not sure who she is. Maybe a minion."

"BAAAA WAAAH BAAA!" Lekmet waved his arms around in a panic.

"What? Hekapoo's daughter? I think you must be mistaken. Hekapoo's daughter is only a few months old. We really should go and visit her." Rhombulus smiled to himself remembered the small baby.

"Baa Waaah!"

"Rapid aging in her dimension? She aged up to a teenager? Wait, why did no one tell me about this before-"

"Baa!"

Lefty panicked, "You what? Oh, please don't call the Magical high Commission."

"Blaaa"

"You… you think we should make other living arrangements?" Rhombulus said heartbroken.

"Uh-huh." Lekmet simply said turning away from him.

"But… who's gonna take care of you?"

Lekmet ignored the question and went to the mirror.

"Lekmet, no. Stop please!"

Lekmet began to dial.

"You'll ruin everything!" Panic set in gripping his heart, "Stop! Stop! Guh!" Without thinking Rhombulus crystallized Lekmet.

He was stunned by his own actions.

"Dude! You crystallized the High Chancellor!" Lefty told him.

Righty eyes twitched, "Do you have any idea how much trouble we are in?!"

"He's right! Queen Butterfly would be furious at you for crystallizing her daughter but if Hekapoo finds outs you crystallized her daughter she will literally create a tear inside you and split you're every atom across the multiverse!"

"She's gonna tear us apart." Lefty started to weep.

"You have to do something!"

"Stop yelling at me!" Rhombulus shouted, "Look, I just really need a win right now. I mean, you guys are my hands! You're supposed to be on my side! Can't you just…?" He let out a long tired sigh.

His right hand looked at him, "Hey. I bet a few reps would clear your head."

"Huh. You know, that's not a bad idea." Rhombulus agreed, taking a look at the weightlifting table. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself down.

Righty continued talking, "Bench presses, a couple of biceps curls. Hmmm?"

Rhombulus noticed something, Righty glancing over to the side, "What are you lookin' at? Huh?"

He turned around to see his left arm holding a baseball bat.

"What? No! Uh! Hey!"

His right arm starts to dial the mirror while his left arm swung at him and missed hitting his right arm. Rhombulus ran away from the mirror smashing his arms against various crystals.

"Let's confess! If you do they might not vaporize us!"

As he struggled against his own arms he finally crystallizes both so them.

Rhombulus lets out a long tired sigh, he looked around and he was alone despite all the crystallized figures.

His eyes fell on Seraph as he walked over to her. His mind went back to Lekmet's words, could this really be Hekapoo's daughter? She had horns like Hekapoo and her eyes looked a lot like hers. Rhombulus let his mind wander back a few months back.

0000

Lekmet was sitting in his chair reading a book. Rhombulus himself was just doing a few bicep curls. It had a been a normal day, they still hadn't managed to find a lead about the fritz.

It had been a bit stressful so they were just trying to unwind.

Then a shiver went up Rhombulus' spine, it was an odd feeling, as far as he could remember he couldn't say he sense anything like that before. It was an odd sensation, yet there was something familiar about it.

Lekmet must have sensed it too judging by his surprised expression. Lekmet quickly got up and went over to the mirror.

"Lekmet?"

Lekmet quickly dialed up someone and Omni appeared on the screen. "Lekmet? Did you sense it too?"

"Uh-huh."

"What's this about?" Rhombulus questioned them.

"Yes, it was Hekapoo," Omni spoke confusedly. "I'm not sure, what happened."

"Is she okay?" Rhombulus looked over Lekmet's shoulder.

Omni took out a crystal of his, turning it to scan the universe. "I'm sure a lot of people sensed it, I doubt many of them could track it back to Hekapoo." Omni could check into every possible timeline and now began to scan this timeline to the source of that feeling watching events play out.

Rhombulus had known Omni for his whole life and he had never seen such shock on his face. "Omni? Is something wrong?"

"Baaa?"

"Hekapoo just had a daughter," Omni spoke quietly.

"Baawah?"

"You took the words out of my mouth, Lekmet." Rhombulus let out just as surprised.

0000

The hospital had given Hekapoo a rather spacious hospital room and was keeping everything quiet. Being part of the Magical High Commission came with some benefits. They even let her keep Nachos with her, the dragon curled up at the front of her bed sleeping. Nachos helped her get there and stayed near her as to guard her. Nachos was as loyal to her as she was to Marco and now… Hekapoo appreciated it. She liked having someone there even if they weren't much for talking.

Hekapoo was tired, more so than she had ever been. She was in bed sewing up something, her clones had gone and got her the material for her to make it. She wasn't much with sewing but she had a lot of experience got a lot of things over the centuries, she was sure she could make something good.

As she finished she looked at the side of her bed wherein a hospital bassinet lay curled up in a yellow blanket her baby. Her baby, that thought was so weird for her. It seemed so strange but just looking at her sleeping face made her heart feel full.

She was so small, she had her eyes and a lot messy brownish red hair. She looked so human, she wondered if the girl would take after her, maybe grow some horns later on. She knew she'd have to tell everyone about this, she'd have to tell Marco… but she just wanted a few moments alone with her baby right now.

The doors flung open, Rhombulus walked in with balloons, "Hey!"

Hekapoo tried not yell at him.

Lekmet quickly followed pushing the same crystal ball set up they always used to talk to Omni.

"Sorry about that?" Omni apologized.

Lekmet closed the door behind them Rhombulus was already by the baby. "Oh, look at the baby! It's sooo cute! I love babies!" He turned back to Hekapoo. "It's your baby! You have a baby."

"Yes, I think I noticed that during labor," Hekapoo told him, too tired to put up with him.

"Why didn't you tell us? We would have loved to help, you know the High Commission helps its members. Plus we're family."

Hekapoo patted him on the head, "I know, I know, I didn't mean to keep it from you. Something just happened, I was pregnant for just a few days. This all just happened so suddenly."

Lekmet and Omni shared a look with each other.

"Still, I didn't know you were dating or anything." Rhombulus turned to her.

"Ugh, that is complicated," She bit her lower lip. "A guy I met recently, we spent 16 years together in my dimension, and we parted ways. I haven't had a chance to tell him because this all happened so suddenly. "

"Do you love him?" Rhombulus asked innocently.

"That's complicated,"

"Not really, when you love someone you just know. What's so complicated about that?" He glanced at Lekmet who agreed with a nod.

"Well, whatever." Rhombulus turned back to Hekapoo. "Whatever happens with this guy just know we will be there for you."

Hekapoo actually smiled at that, "Thanks."

Rhombulus was not the smartest guy in the multiverse and he got on her nervous pretty easily but he did have a good heart.

"Oh!" Rhombulus held out the balloons. "We stopped on our way here to get you some balloons. I'll tie them to your bed." He moved to do just that.

"Huh? I don't think that such a great idea." Hekapoo tried to stop him.

It was too late the balloons got to close to her and once they got close to her horns they popped.

The loud noise startled the baby and as babies do she cried loudly.

"Oop!" Rhombulus let out.

Omni spoke up, "Yeah, I told you we should have just gotten some flowers or a stuffed bear or maybe a fruit basket."

"Come here." Hekapoo leaned over and grabbed the baby, soon she cradled her in her arms. "Look at what mama has for you." Hekapoo grabbed the plush red and yellow dragon she mad just finished making and nuzzled it close to the girl. "It's like a small softer Nachos you can cuddle. Boop." Hekapoo playfully lets the nose of the plush dragon tap her baby's nose.

The small baby quieted down marveling at the plush doll. She reached for the doll pulling it close. She cuddled it enjoying how it smelled like her mother. The baby was pulled close Hekapoo, her mother's heartbeat softly lulling the baby.

The commission was a bit surprised seeing Hekapoo act so tenderly to her daughter. Hekapoo was not particularly mean-spirited or anything but it was rare to see her act so tenderly to anyone like that.

Nachos pulled away Rhombulus, "Let me go, you big lizard."

The dragon let him go with a snarl.

Rhombulus moved closer to them to get a better look. Hekapoo was losing her patience with him.

"Goo goo ga gaa," Rhombulus waved his snake-like hand before the baby trying to get her attention.

The baby fussed and gripped the dragon tighter.

"Stop, Rhombulus. You're upsetting her."

"Oh come on, I'm just trying to be friendly. She should get to know her Uncle Rhombulus."

Hekapoo groaned at the prospect.

"Come on little one, can you say uncle?"

The little baby just whimpered, and Hekapoo had enough. "Rhombulus time out corner!" Cradling her baby Hekapoo jumped off the bed and did a mid-air spin kick kicking Rhombulus right into a corner. Hekapoo landed back in bed holding her baby close, even tired her physical skills were top notch and she made sure to give her baby all the support she needs.

"Seraph, you okay?" Hekapoo whispered to her baby.

The young Seraph simply giggled as she looked up to her mother.

Rhombulus slowly started to black out as Nachos moved over to him to stand between him and his masters.

0000

Rhombulus looked at the crystal again. He saw her fire, the fierceness that had always seen in Hekapoo. He couldn't help but admit to himself that she had to be Hekapoo's daughter.

He was surprised she looked like a teenager already. He was certain it had only been a few months since he last saw her, was this some sort of thing with Hekapoo's dimension?

As he stopped to think this over he felt guilt. He had trapped a lot of people in crystal but never had he ever trapped an infant and she was much more than that. She didn't do anything, for all he knew she just got caught up with the bad kind of people.

As he looked at her, he could help but think back to that small bundle that Hekapoo was holding, the small baby he tried to make laugh. The small baby that made Hekapoo smile in a way Rhombulus had never seen her smile.

Before he even realized he was doing it he zapped the crystal and freed her.

"Hey are-" Rhombulus stopped talking when a ball of flame struck his eye.

He had forgotten she had been mid attack when he crystallized her.

He tumbled backward and as Seraph stepped out of the goop that was the leftover of the crystal, her fist was aflame.

All that Seraph knew was this crystal guy zapped Star and her. All the karate training she received started to kick in. She rushed forwards and with her flaming fist hitting him in his abs as quickly as she could.

Normally Seraph would try and hold back but not this time, her father and karate had told her not to attack first and to have control. She was strong and powerful and she could hurt people so she had to be careful. This guy was clearly tough and magical and more to the point attacked her and her friend in their home so there was no reason for her to hold back.

Rhombulus quickly found himself being pushed back. He moved to block her when she changed things up as she spun into a kick delivered straight to his chest.

Rhombulus couldn't help but be reminded of her mother as he tossed backward and into the crystal that held a pizza delivery guy.

He tumbled to the ground stunned. The crystal cracked and the pizza delivery guy was freed.

"I'm free!" he quickly ran leaving behind his pizza.

Looking around she found several crystals holding many people, she quickly spotted a goat man that she couldn't help but feel looked somewhat familiar.

Seraph noted that and quickly spotted the crystal holding Star and moved towards it. She took a deep breath and pulled back her fist and struck it.

"Ow!" She waved her hand shaking the pain off.

The large crystal started to crack, the pieces all fell apart leaving Star behind.

The princess gasped, "What? What happened?"

"Star? Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Star shook the cobwebs off her mind.

"Some big crystal guy showed up and zapped us and brought us here. I managed to escape and free you."

Star looked at the girl, "Thanks."

She sometimes saw so much of her father in her, his bravery and his kindness.

Seraph helped her up, Star noticed Seraph's knuckles were red and bruised a bit of guilt bubbled up.

Before Star could say anything Seraph turned to their captor, "That's the guy."

The girls moved closer as he groaned in pain.

"Who are you?" Star took the lead.

"My name is Rhombulus, I work with your moms."

"Rhombulus?" The Princess asked rubbing her chin, Seraph gave her a confused look. Star suddenly remembered, "Rhombulus? Oh, oh! You're the time-out guy."

"What?"Rhombulus looked on confused. "Who calls me that? I bet it's Glossaryck, isn't it?"

"Omnitraxus calls you that too. And my mom and dad, really all of the members of the Magic High Commission call you that. Time-out guy."

Rhombulus let his shoulder's slump.

"Why did you come for us?" Star questioned him.

"Why did you cause the dimensional fritz?"

"Fritz?" Star returned his question, "What's that?"

Seraph vaguely remembered her mother mentioning that word before.

"The leak in the universe!" Rhombulus shouted flailing his arms around, "The reason nothing working up here?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Star shrugged.

"Oh! Something has been draining the power of magic from the universe." He waved at all the crystals, "See? Crystal orbs are down. And then there's the green hole over there."

He pointed to a swirling green vortex in the sky.

"Yeah, that part definitely looks broken."

"And look at the crystal I trapped Lekmet in. This stuff used to be hard as diamonds. Now its like... rock candy or something."

Star looked back at him, "I'm sorry your powers are all crazy, but it's not me."

Seraph backed her up, "Yeah, I live with Star for a while now haven't seen her do anything that could cause this."

Rhombulus objected, "You have to be the source! You see all these guys?" He gestured towards the crystals. "My gut told me they were evil, so I crystallized them. There's Zedlord, who blew up an entire planet. Astrobell and the black hole she created. Stopped that one just in time. Then, of course, I am most proud of the evil twins," He pointed to his chest. "John and Jack. They're pretty hard to tell apart, but one of them was definitely evil. This is what I do. I find the source of evil, and I encase it in crystal forever."

"So your snake hands. They're evil too?" Star asked him.

"What? No, they're my hands."

Seraph pointed at Lekmet, "And what about that old goat man? Is he evil? He seemed pretty nice to me."

Rhombulus scoffed, "There's nothing evil about Lekmet. He's the most pure-hearted, hard-working angel goat demon there ever was."

Star asked the obvious question, "Well, why did you crystallize him then? Hmm?"

Rhombulus didn't have an answer to that.

Star patted him on the shoulder. "Look, time-out guy, I think you need to think stuff through a little more before you rely on your gut. It's making you crystallize innocent people."

Rhombulus let a tear out of his eye, both girls feeling a bit sorry for him, "Maybe you're right. I could trust you, gut!" He then punched himself. "I suck at this, I can't find the leak, I captured a princess, and I even crystallized my own niece." He looked at Seraph deeply ashamed of himself.

"Niece?" Seraph pointed to herself.

"Yeah, didn't your mom tell you?"

"Huh?" Star remembered something on a page of the spell book, something Glossaryck put in as an introduction. Something she barely skimmed. "Yeah, I think I read something about that."

"Glossaryck, created me, Omnitraxus, Lekmet and your mother. So, well, I'm kinda your uncle. We actually visited you the day you were born. We all sensed something happens and Lekmet and Omni knew it was related to your mom."

"Why did mom never tell me?"

"Yeah, your mom can be a bit of loner but she's very protective about those she cares about. And…. And I've never seen her as happy as I did when she was holding baby you."

Then he realized something, "I've been wrong about everything lately. The commission thinks I'm a joke. I thought I could find the source of the fritz, my hands and I could earn the appreciation of the Magical High Commission again." He looked back at Lekmet, "I actually crystallized Lekmet. And I love Lekmet!"

Star picked up one of his tears noting they were crystals, "Ooh, pretty!"

"I'm gonna be in time-out for the next ten thousand years. If Hekapoo doesn't rip me out of the universe. Oh, Glossaryck is gonna have a field day with that. Let me tell you."

Star settled next to him, "Ah, I wouldn't worry 'bout him. He's not coming back."

"What? Glossaryck's gone?"

"Oh!" Star chuckled, "Uh, yeah…."

"Glossaryck's gone? This is amazing! I mean, it's actually really bad." He chuckled to himself, "But its good for me. But yeah, wow. That's bad news for the universe."

"Whose Glossaryck?" Seraph questioned them.

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't have met him," Star admitted. "He's a small blue man that lives inside my spell book. He's a tiny jerk."

Rhombulus added, "Yeah, not surprised your mom didn't tell you about him. He is a jerk. The thing about Glossaryck is he may be a jerk, but he's the most powerful all-knowing magic jerk in the universe. That's why I can never win an argument with him."

"He's just so hard to deal with, right? Even when I tried to rescue him, he didn't want to come back."

"You know that fancy crystal in his head? I gave it to him! But did he ever thank me? No."

From what he was hearing about him Seraph was pretty sure she didn't want to meet him.

Seraph looked over to where the pizza delivery guy dropped the delivery. Opening the box she found the pizza was still nice and warm. "Yuk!" She tossed the box aside when she realized it had pineapple on it.

"Every time we got donuts, he just sat on them." Star sighed as she continued to talk about the little magic man. "What a waste of donuts."

"You know, I made some donuts for a meeting yesterday, and I think there's some left over. Uh… you want any?"

"Yes," Seraph answered eagerly, she was still a little hungry as she didn't get to finish her cereal and that pizza was not appetizing.

Rhombulus grabbed one of the crystals and placed donuts and a tea kettle on it.

The girls sat around the makeshift table and took out some of the donuts. Star found the donuts encased in crystal. She tried to bit through but found it too hard, Seraph chomped through the crystal enjoying the crunchy sweet.

Star marveled at the donut, "Ooh. You know, you shouldn't feel so down on yourself Rhombulus. Your crystals are really pretty."

"Uh…. Uncle Rhombulus?"Seraph began.

Rhombulus had to repress a squeal of delight to being called that. "Yes?"

"Mom doesn't talk much about you guys. I want to get to know the rest of my family more. Can you tell me a little about you guys?"

"Well, we already told you about Glossaryck. Uh, well, let's start with Omnitraxus…"

Rhombulus told Seraph about her other uncles. How Omnitraxus was helpful and kind guardian over all of time and space. About how Lekmet was the kindest person anyone could ever hope to meet. And about how Hekapoo often kept them together. How Hekapoo was fierce but only because she expected everyone to try and be their best.

Rhombulus started to tell stories about their adventures together against the forces of evil that would dare face against them.

"Your mom does give us a lot of grief but it comes from a good place. She's always trying to make sure we're doing our best. When we do have to fight me and her are always the front line keeping everyone else safe. Though she never says it she is always making sure I'm safe too. Always covering my blind spots, I try to keep her safe too but she's just so fast it's a little hard for me to keep up."

Seraph marveled at her uncle as she learned more about her family.

There was a moment of silence when Rhombulus started up, "So, I guess you've got to turn me in, right? I mean, crystallizing the princess is kind of a big deal. I'm probably gonna get in big trouble."

Seraph frowned at the thought.

Star shrugged, "Uh, not necessarily. Okay, look, if you don't tell the Magic High Commission about Glossaryck or the Magic Book of Spells and how I lost both of them, then I won't tell them about it." Star looked over to Seraph, "Besides, you're just getting to know your niece I'd hate to get you in trouble with Hekapoo when you're just getting to meet each other. If I did that I doubt Hekapoo would let her visit."

Seraph quickly perked up. "Really?"

Star smiled, "Yup, we just all have to keep everything that happened here a secret."

"Deal!" Rhombulus quickly agreed.

"Uh, but what about Uncle Lekmet?" Seraph couldn't help but point out.

"Well, don't worry about him. I'm the only one who can understand what he says." Rhombulus got an idea, "Both of you close your eyes."

The girls did as he asked.

"Now open!"

They opened their eyes to find him holding out the two gems that were on his chest. The girls quickly took them.

Star looked on, "Ooh, is this evil twin Jack?" She held out her before looking at the matching one Seraph had.

"Huh? Not sure. Either way, I want you two to have them."

0000

A portal opened in the kitchen as the morning light started to filter in. The girls stepped out with Rhombulus poking his head out.

"Thank you." He told them softly.

"No problem." Star smiled holding out the gem he gave her.

Seraph quickly gave him a hug, "Goodbye Uncle. Be sure to visit anytime."

"I might just do that."Rhombulus chuckled still loving hearing someone call him uncle.

He waved goodbye before the portal closed behind him.

"Morning." Marco came in ready to go on his jog. "Seraph, you got up early? Are you ready for our jog?"

"Oh, just give me a minute." Seraph quickly raced to her room to get changed.

Star marveled at how much energy Seraph had, she'd been up most of the night talking to her uncle and was just ready to go for a jog.

Marco started to stretch out, "Your up early." Marco questioned the princess. "Wait, we're you trying to get my cereal?"

"No!" Star moved so she was blocking the bowel she had started to eat from. "But your daughter was having a bowl. She said you told her she could have one."

"Yeah, she can. She just seems to get a little hyper when she has too much and then has a big sugar crash. Wait, so what are you doing up so early? Did you want to come with us for our jog?"

"…..Ah, yeah." Star said she couldn't say anything else without getting into trouble.

"That's great," Marco said happily, "I'll go get Nachos and the puppies, I'll meet you outside."

As Marco went to the front of the house Star sighed already tired, "Today is gonna be a long one."

She held up the gem with one the twins, wondering which one she got. She shrugged, decided she might as well try to enjoy spending some time with Marco and Seraph.

0000

Rhombulus returned to his dimension and to Lekmet intending to free him from the crystal. He poured out some nice warm milk hoping to put him in a good mood. He planned to apologize for it, he was going to tell him he freed Star and Seraph and they accepted his apology. He hoped that would help smooth things over. Maybe even talk about his conversation with Seraph and how she wanted to get know them better, maybe that help his mood.

As he was about to free him he started to recall something… something from that hospital visit.

0000

Nachos was sitting on him, probably to make sure he didn't get close to the baby. Not that he thought he could get up the room was still spinning and he was shoved into the corner. He felt like he might pass out again, he could barely make out what was going on.

Hekapoo had a good kick.

He opened his eyes and saw the other by the bed.

"How is that you have a baby?" Omni spoke through the crystal ball.

"Seraph, Seraph Celosia Diaz, that's her name."

"Baa?" Lekmet let out.

"…That's a nice name." Omni said as he smiled a bit, "Diaz means day, doesn't? I take it her last name came from her father."

"Yeah, it's not like I have a last name to give her." Hekapoo continued to rock the baby to in her arms as she gently nibbled on the plush dragon.

"So, what exactly is her father?"

"Marco is a human."

"Baa!" Lekmet let out surprised.

"How's that possible?" Omni added, "I didn't think you could even stand humans."

"What can I say? I had some time to reevaluate my position on the matter. Maybe not all humans are so lame." Hekapoo smiled looking at her daughter in her arms.

Lekmet leaned over giving the infant a small smile and a wave. Seraph reached over to him and Lekmet returned the gesture by offering her his hoof. But she instead tugged on his long beard tugging at it.

"Baa!" The old goat groaned.

"Sweetie, let him go."

"Bwaa." Lekmet waved over her concern not wanting to upset the newborn.

"Hekapoo," Omni went back to the topic, "you shouldn't even be able to have a child, much less with a human."

"I know, " She said softly, "I talk to the doctor about his-"

"You told the doctor-?"

"Didn't have much of a choice, I knew I couldn't have a kid but one was starting to come out of me. Don't worry he's keeping it a secret even from the rest of the staff. The most we could figure out that somehow me and Marco pulled a million to one shot, all the needed factors aligned just right at the right time to make this little miracle possible."

Omni didn't know what to say, none of them had ever thought this was possible and didn't know what to do when it happened. He thought about asking Glossaryck for help none of them liked spending time with him. That and was there anything wrong, Hekapoo seemed happy the baby seemed healthy and happy.

"Have you told the father yet?"

"No, not yet. This just happened so suddenly, I'm going to tell him when I get a chance. I just wanted to take her home and settle before I do."

"Do you need anything?"

"No, I've got everything I need right now. Before I go home I'll send some clones to pick up some things."

"Okay, we'll let us know if you need anything, a babysitter or anything."

Hekapoo looked at those gathered around her, "…Thanks." They were not the ideal babysitters but she appreciated the thought behind the offer.

Rhombulus blacked out again his last thought being of playing with that baby

0000

Lekmet sat in a comfy chair drinking some milk. After being freed and talking to Rhombulus he agreed not to tell the commission about his actions since the girls themselves seemed to forgive him. That and Rhombulus did feel guilty about his actions and learned his lesson.

He slowly sipped on his milk, he thought about the girl feeling a tad guilty himself. He and the others had been keeping a secret from Rhombulus too.

0000

Lekmet was planning on doing something special, they never even had a chance to give Hekapoo a baby shower, he just wanted to give her a gift for her baby. As he planned something out when a portal formed before him and a hand pulled him in.

He stumbled forwards realizing that Hekapoo had done so and brought him back to the hospital.

He wasn't the only one Omni phased into the spacious hospital room.

"Hekapoo, what is the meaning of this?" Omni hovered above them.

Lekmet noticed something, her usual calm, and laid back demeanor was replaced with something else. Something he never saw in her, true fear and despair.

Her eyes were red and her hair a tattered mess.

"I thought you had already left the hospital," Omni asked, worry starting to pepper his voice.

"Help her!" Hekapoo demanded, she looked desperate.

Both of them turned to a girl sleeping a bed, a teenaged girl with red hair and horns.

"Bwah?"

"Who is she?" Omni asked curiously.

"Seraph, that's Seraph."

"But she's a teenager, is this about your dimension time difference?"

"No, we only spent about a month in my dimension. Then I realized she aged a decade and got us back to the hospital. The doctors tested her and…and, they think my dimensions timeline is messing with her. That my dimensions timeline and her father's timeline are doubling her aging in my dimension. She's mortal, every day is months for her there and…" She sobbed, for the first time in ever those two saw Hekapoo cry, "I- I-I- can accept that she's mortal, that one day I'll have to say goodbye. It will break my heart but I can accept that if she had a nice long life. But my dimension is taking years from her. So, I'm begging you please help her!"

It broke their heart to see Hekapoo like that.

They didn't say anything, Omni raised his hand and moved it towards the girl. His hand glowed faintly but then it stopped as he pulled his arm away.

Lekmet moved the sleeping girl's side and held out his hands to a similar effect.

Both of them looked at Hekapoo disheartened.

"Baa."

"I'm sorry," Omni told her solely, "there is nothing to do, there is nothing wrong with her. Time is running like it's supposed to with her, and judging from Lekmet's reaction she's perfectly healthy. This is just how her body reacts to your dimension, mostly because of your nature and …" He let his words trail off.

Hekapoo sobbed, "I know… the doctor said the same thing I just had to try." The tears started flowing from her eyes. She tried to keep quiet not wanting to wake the girl, she was a heavy sleeper but she didn't want to risk it.

"Please Omni…" Hekapoo said between sobs. "Use your power search through the other lines, one of them had to have a solution."

Omni was quiet as he searched, "Hekapoo…. It's not easy. She's unique, Seraph doesn't show up, there are other versions of her in some way but they're not like her. You're not like your other selves… I'm sorry."

Hekapoo continued to sob unable to stop.

Nachos had come with them, that dragon never wanting to leave the girl's side and sensing the mother's distress wouldn't think of leaving her alone. Nachos nuzzled against Hekapoo. Lekmet moved over and hugged, Omni stretched out his hand and rested it on her back.

If all they could do was comfort her then that what they would do.

Omni and Lekmet thought of her as a sister and pained them they couldn't do anything to help. The issue was that it was her nature and even Glossaryck could do nothing about that.

She wept silently and they held her, and she came to the conclusion that she had to do what was best for her daughter.

Even when it would break her heart.

0000

Seraph was running track during PE, it was easy for her even after taking a jog with her dad earlier that morning. She let her mind wander as she ran.

Her talk with uncle had started to make her think about her mother and how her life changed so much so fast.

She wondered why her mother kept that from Rhombulus and never told her about Glossaryck. Seraph wanted to know more, as she ran she thought about her journey to Earth.

0000

Seraph was in the hospital waking in the morning. Her mother had started to panic just a day ago and took her to the hospital to have her checked up. Nachos was there and probably the only thing keeping her from going into a full-blown panic.

Seraph petted Nachos as her mother explained the situation.

She didn't realize at first but she was aging too fast in her mother's dimension and now she was going to meet her father. She couldn't stay in her mom's dimension anymore so they'd turn to her father, Hekapoo was certain he'd say yes.

Hekapoo didn't know how his parents would react but would hope for the best. If not she was sure some of the other commission members would be happy to take her in. Either way, it was time for Marco know about her.

Seraph was nervous about all this but she was far more excited to finally get to meet her father, her mother promised that when she was older she'd take her to meet her father. Hekapoo had told her about Marco and his adventures and now felt like she knew him.

Hekapoo made a couple of clones and opened two portals. "Okay, I'm going to talk to your dad. I'll see you soon." She kissed her on the cheek before she stepped into the portal.

Hekapoo found herself in her home, in her room, she looked herself in a mirror. Her eyes were red because how much she cried, her dress was wrinkled and messy. She gave herself a moment to calm herself, this would be tough but she had to be strong for Seraph. She cleaned herself up. She opened a portal right to Marco's front door.

The clones finished checking out of the hospital and getting her things.

The clones, Seraph, and Nachos used the other portal to go back the Forge.

Seraph felt strange standing in her mother's home, her home, knowing very well it might the last time she could stand there.

The clones helped her pack her things, there wasn't much but it was a slow process. Then when she was done she sat down at the dinner table, some of the clones had prepared her favorite dishes.

They sat down and had one last meal together in their home.

As the meal came to an end one of the clones lead her towards the forge and where Hekapoo made the scissors. Seraph remembered making her own scissors there once and a few metal sculptures.

The other clones got Nachos ready, packing all the bags onto Nachos' back.

"Mom?" Seraph asked.

Hekapoo opened a drawer and pulled out some scissors. The handle was ruby red and it almost seemed to be made of flower petals. Seraph noticed Her mother's emblem on them, glimmering in the light of the forge. "I wanted to give you this later, but this seems right."

Seraph looked on confused, "Wait are those the scissors I made? Did you make them dimensional scissors for me?"

"Yeah, sweetie, your old man has his own scissors but it can't hurt to have your own. So, I took the scissors you and made a modified them a bit. You remember what I told you about owning scissors?"

"That I have to be respectful about them, never misuse them, and to be careful. Otherwise just think about where I want to go when I use them and not to let my mind wander."

"Right." Hekapoo created a portal to where the real Hekapoo was.

She placed the scissors into Seraph's hand, Seraph held them in her hands and noticed her name on them glow in her mother's language and in her father's language. She smiled before slipping them into her pocket.

"Thank you," Seraph said giving her a hug.

The other clones brought in Nachos all packed up, "Its time to go."

The clones were all connected to Hekapoo and could tell she was talking to Marco so it seemed like the right time for Seraph to show up. Seraph climbed onto Nachos and gave the clones a smile before driving into the portal.

Slowly the portal closed behind her and the clones stared for a moment. They started to weep already missing the girl, knowing it was just the pain they shared with Hekapoo prime. Now the burden was on Hekapoo alone, they moved to do their duties and guard the castle forge. In the meantime, they only hoped she'd be happy and safe.

0000

Seraph remembered all this as something hit her.

Her sugar crash, the one that Marco warned about.

Seraph fell to the ground with a thud, she'd been running on a sugar high and hadn't slept all night so it was a miracle she had lasted this long.

Assistant Couch Minerva checked and Seraph's horn just crossed the finish line. "Okay, close enough." She made a note of it to give her full credit.

The rest of the class still had several laps to go.

Minerva moved over and helped her up noting how Seraph was fast asleep. "You had that cereal again? I thought your dad told you only one." Minerva started to help Seraph over to the benches, "Let's get you a sports drink."

Seraph wasn't hurt, she was tough and honestly, it wasn't the first time she tripped at high speeds.

0000

In the deepest darkest dimension of the multiverse, someone sat fast asleep and woke up.

Slowly they rose, smacking their lips, they felt a shiver go down through their body, sensing something unique. "Hm, that's different," They pondered it for a moment more, "And is it tied to Hekapoo?" They chuckled to themselves, "Maybe it's time for a visit."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hello again. Good news, my big writing project is almost done, just editing and should be done by next week so I might be able to write more often. Probably not so in this month because other Christmas projects. I'll still try to update. Here's a a hint about the next chapter :first date.**

 **Okay, I'm not all that happy with this chapter. During the middle I felt that I went too heavy in dialogue, but I could really picture anything because nothing much happened. But overall lore wise I'm happy with that. We got to see some scenes and I know you've been asking about the commission and heres your answer. Also there are stuff… for later… yeah…**

 **Anyway, please leave a review and tell me what you think.**


	12. Chapter 12:First

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Vs the Forces of Evil or any of its elements.**

* * *

Chapter 12: First

Hekapoo was visiting Seraph, as busy as she was she tried to find time for her daughter. It would have been easier if they could spend time in her dimension, time moved faster there they could as much time as they wanted.

Hekapoo could spend days with her before having to go back to her work and Seraph had to go to school.

Still, with how things were Hekapoo was unwilling to risk Seraph's life just to spend a few moments with her.

This would do.

Hekapoo and Seraph sat at the dinner table, Seraph working on her school work while Hekapoo combed her hair. It was a small thing, but something that Hekapoo had enjoyed doing. Her daughter had a lot of hair that tended to bunch up. Hekapoo fondly remembered having to clean out twigs that had gotten caught in the girl's hair when she ran off to play. Seraph could do it on her now but being able to take care of her daughter even a small way made her feel better.

The pair talked as they both worked. The house was pretty quiet. Marco had left to go to the Quest Buy, apparently, a joy sucking magician had stolen his wallet and Marco had gone to complain that it should not be possible for anyone but him to open it much less steal it. Hekapoo wished him luck, customer service at Quest Buy was a nightmare.

Star had gone off to hang out with her friends.

Seraph's grandfather had gone out to get supplies for his next big art project.

Angie was making herself busy in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Hekapoo was a bit uneasy about being close to Angie without Marco. Angie wasn't rude or anything but Hekapoo always felt this distance between them. It felt a little strange for Hekapoo since Angie looked so much like her own daughter, Hekapoo naturally felt she wanted to close that gap between them. The idea of someone looking like her daughter being distant felt wrong. Though she didn't know how to go about it, still Angie was a good grandmother so Hekapoo tried not to focus on it.

Seraph looked up from one of her books, "Hey mom, can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing," Hekapoo smiled at her.

Seraph had been curious about things and thought this was the best opportunity to ask. "I wanted to ask you about dating?"

"Dating?" Hekapoo raised an eyebrow. Hekapoo chuckled at this. "Oh, did someone ask you out?"

Hekapoo was delighted her daughter would come to her to ask her about this subject. In all fairness to Marco, he wasn't an expert on dating, Hekapoo's own experience was somewhat limited but she was her mom she should at least talk to her mom about it.

On the other hand, Hekapoo should not be surprised something like this, her daughter was beautiful most of the school should be at war with each other just to have a chance to talk to her.

"Actually no," Seraph answered her. "I overheard some people talking at school about dating and I had some questions."

Hekapoo mused, "Okay, well, I'm your mom if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer."

Seraph gave her a nod, "What were your dates with dad like?"

"Ah-" Hekapoo actually flinched. "Ah, yeah-about that- We- we-"

Hekapoo didn't really know how to answer. They were never any sort of official couple, they just had some fun together. It was not something easy to explain much less to her own daughter.

"Yeah, like how about that one? The one in that picture you gave me."

Hekapoo recalled the picture, "Yeah, I guess that was a date."

"Yeah, tell me about that one."

"Okay, I guess I can tell you about that one." Hekapoo took a deep breath as she began.

0000

It started a long time ago, by then Marco was in his twenties. He'd been doing the trial in Hekapoo's dimension for years. He'd put on some muscle by then and gotten taller.

One day Hekapoo noticed he hadn't been trying anything. Usually, he woke up exercised and got something to eat before he set off to find her or one of the clones. But that day he just forged for some food and stayed in his camp making marks on the dirt.

That had gotten Hekapoo's attention and she went to him.

A shot of fire lit up the dark sky and Marco turned up only to see Hekapoo stepping out of the woods. He sat on the cliff lit up by the moon and looked down at a forest filled valley below.

"Time out." She told him.

"It's been some time, Hekapoo." Marco quickly turned his eyes back to the dirt

"I've had some stuff to do, flesh-wad." Hekapoo moved and sat by him. "So, you're not going to do anything today?"

"No, I'm taking the day off."

"That's a bit unusual for you,"

"I guess," Marco said only half paying attention.

"Is something wrong?" The forger asked him, despite everything Hekapoo had started to think of him as a friend and wanted to know what was wrong.

"I decided to count the days, and it looks like I've been here for about seven years. Today is actually my birthday, my twenty-first birthday."

"Congrats!" Hekapoo half shrugged, honestly she had a hard time to keep track of such things not even keeping track of her own birthday.

"It just hit me how long I've been here and how much I've left behind."

"Oh," it had been a while since she made this offer, "If you want we can end this right now and I can send you home."

"No," He shook his head, "I'm not giving up. I'm gonna earn those scissors. It's just a hit. I don't know exactly when but I started to forget what my home looked like. I vaguely remember people and their faces. I don't know how I'm gonna explain it to them when I finally get those scissors. I'm not sure if I can, they've probably all long since moved on. Still, I'm gonna get those scissors and go back one day. Tell them I'm sorry, give my parents a big hug and give those scissors to Star like promised."

"Determined as ever, I see."

"I'm not giving up I just feeling a bit melancholy today." Marco looked up at the stars that started to appear in the night sky. "I guess I'm just missing home a little."

Hekapoo looked at him thoughtfully, she'd never seen him like this and didn't like it.

"Okay, let me do something about that, birthday boy." Hekapoo got up onto on her feet. "I'm gonna bring you a piece of home for you. Tell me what you want to eat and I'll go grab some of it."

Marco looked at me surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah, I can be nice. Pick something so I can bring it."

"Ah, nachos, no pizza, a bacon cheeseburger, tacos, horchata, ramen, chocolate-"

Hekapoo just huffed, "Fine, I'll get you some stuff give me a second."

She quickly pulled out her scissors and with a few quick slashed in the air a few portals opened up and food started to slip out.

Marco had to question it, "Did you just steal that?"

0000

"No, I didn't. I made sure to pay for them." Hekapoo paused her story to set that straight for her daughter. "I left them some money."

"Okay, got it." Seraph agreed.

"Stealing is bad." Hekapoo wagged her finger at her daughter to emphasis her point.

0000

Marco and Hekapoo started to eat, though Marco would have probably loved to have a chance to make his own nachos, but at the moment he was overjoyed to have a chance to eat food from his home.

They ate as there was really too much food there for one person to eat.

"Oh my god!" That is when Hekapoo discovered something wonderful. "Bacon is amazing!"

"It is!" Marco agreed.

"I would have this every day if I could."

"Some people do, it's just not great for your heart."

"Oh, I'd risk it." She took another bite of that burger.

Marco was eating some nachos, "If you want the pizza has bacon too."

Hekapoo quickly reached for the pizza.

0000

"Wait-" Seraph stopped the story, "Are you going to tell me that you fell in love with dad because he introduced you to bacon?"

"No, of course not."

"So how did you fall for dad?"

Hekapoo shifted in her chair, "…Just gonna go back to telling my story."

0000

After they finished eating they just sorta laid there on the ground and looked up at the sky and talked. At some point, they had gotten back to his life on Earth and about him missing it.

"I just sort of just missed doing all the normal stuff people my age have gotten to do."

"Oh, yeah your people at this age accrue debt, start vices, and have existential crisis."

"There are other stuff, learning to drive a car, going to college, getting your own place, going on dates-"

"I thought you've said you went on dates."

"Well, yeah, years ago. But like grown updates, the kind of stuff you see in those movies. Two people go out to have fun, go dancing or something and just hang out all night enjoying their company without worrying about curfews or anything."

Hekapoo couldn't help but smirk at him, "Well, aren't you a romantic."

"I mean-"

"No, I get what you mean. Since it's your birthday why don't I treat you a little bit more."

"What do you mean?"

"Marco Diaz, let's go out on a date." Hekapoo turned to look him right in the eyes.

"What?!" Marco practically choked on his own spit. "Are you saying- do you- ah?"

"Calm down, we can just go out and just have some fun tonight. It doesn't have to mean anything other than that. What do you say, Diaz?"

Marco paused for a moment thinking it over, obviously the idea of having even a friend date with Hekapoo blew his mind.

"Okay, sounds like fun."

"Okay, but we can't go out like this."

"Why not?"

"Cause you stink, when was the last time you had a bath?" She waved her hand in her face.

"I don't know, I guess it's been a while. It's not like I get too many chances, last time I tried to have a bath I almost got eaten."

"I don't care, its fine when you are out in the wild but if you're gonna take a girl out for some fun at least smell clean."

Hekapoo quickly opened up a portal tossed Marco's things into it before grabbing Marco himself and pulling him along.

Marco was a bit stunned to find himself in a large bathroom.

"Welcome to my bathroom," Hekapoo told him.

"This is your place? As in your home? As in the Forge?"

"My bathroom to exact."

Marco had never expected to ever actually be in her home, from what he could understand was that her home was in some sort of legendary forest that no one knew exactly where it was. Of course, they were on a timeout so it didn't matter much anyway.

"Okay, strip," Hekapoo ordered him.

"What?"

"How are you going to take a bath in your clothes? I should clean those up too. Just leave them outside the door."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna get ready for a date," Hekapoo said with a wry smile.

0000

"So, you asked dad out on a date and then the first thing you did was have him take off his clothes?" Seraph gave her a mother a mocking gaze.

"Don't start, I don't know where you get that attitude from."

0000

Marco himself was enjoying the bath, he didn't know if he could actually call it a bath. It was the size of a large pool and took up most of the large room. He relaxed just taking in the room. It was the kind of bathroom he'd expect in a palace, all done up in marble with water that felt amazing against his skin he wouldn't be surprised if it was laced with magic.

The thing that threw him for a loop was that there were statues in the bath, statues of Hekapoo holding jars where water poured out.

It was a little odd for Marco, it felt almost like Hekapoo was there watching him take a bath. He tried not to think about it as he grabbed some of the soap he found there.

Something felt off as if he had forgotten something important.

0000

Hekapoo was finishing getting ready. She had already cleaned up Marco's clothes and left them for him outside the door along with a towel.

She looked herself in the mirror, her hair was styled and if she had to admit looked rather nice. She had picked out a new dress, something that showed off her figure. She wasn't much for using makeup but she was using a bit and the lipstick she used really made her lips pop.

Honestly, she looked hot if she did say so herself.

So what was the problem?

Marco was taking way too long in the bath. Yeah, baths were nice but he was seriously taking way too long.

Then a thought struck her, they were in her home the forge. The location where she made her scissors and she always had a few extra there. He could have snuck off after she left him and grabbed one. It's not like she had a lot of security at this place.

She made a note to get a couple of her clones to guard this place.

She was angry at herself, she trusted Marco she thought highly of him enough that she let down her guard.

She paused, she told herself Marco would not do something like that. She took a breath as she decided to check in on him.

That was when there was a knock on the front door.

"What?" Hekapoo wasn't expecting anyone, there were only so many people who could have reached her there.

She opened the door and to her surprise she found Marco standing there.

"What?"

"Yeah, sorry I snuck out," Marco told her.

"Yeah, I will repeat, what?"

"Well, if we are going on a date I thought I should get you something." He pulled out from his back a bouquet of flowers. "I snuck out and picked you some flowers. Took me longer than I thought, there weren't a lot of flowers around here. I hope you like them, I'm not sure what they're called."

Hekapoo smiled, "They're celosia, I do like them." Hekapoo took the flowers gladly.

She looked at the red flowers with flame-like heads.

"I gotta admit it, I didn't give you credit. You can be smooth when you try."

Hekapoo quickly used her speed and fetched a water-filled vase to put the flowers in. She quickly returned placing one of the flowers behind her ear leaving the vase on coffee table.

As she stepped closer to Marco she grabbed his arm and took out her scissors.

"Where are we going?" Marco asked her.

"Oh, don't you worry about that." Hekapoo boop-ed his nose. "You just leave that to me, Muscles."

0000

"Is that where my middle name came from?" Seraph sighed, she had never liked her middle name.

"It's a nice name and it means something. It was a nice moment between your dad and me. The thing about your dad… he's a huge dork."

"Yeah, I knew that but I like that."

"Yeah, so do I. It's odd, but your dad has this weird charm to him. Usually, when he tries to be charming or smooth he just comes off as a dork. I mean, it's not a bad thing he's cute when he does that or at least its funny. But when he doesn't try, that's where his true charm comes out. He's more natural, he's sweet, and you can just see that in all of those moments when he just is. Getting me those flowers was that he wasn't trying to charm me he just wanted to do something nice."

"And by not trying he charmed you."

Hekapoo played with her bangs, "Even your dad has his moments."

"You mean especially my dad?"

Hekapoo tried not to laugh.

0000

As for Hekapoo she preferred more active dates, she wasn't opposed to something like watching a movie or having dinner but given the choice, for a first date, she wanted to move.

"Ready to play?"

Hekapoo found herself on one end of the lake and Marco on the other side.

"Let me get this straight," Marco began, " You want us to jump on these stones all across the lake,"

"Yup,"

"The added pressure of our weight will gas to build up until eventually, they start jetting off like geysers."

"So far so good,"

"And whoever gets blasted loses this game."

"And people think you're just a pretty face."

"This just seems like a really weird game of Russian Roulette. Not something I'd think of for a date."

"Come on what fun would it be just to sit and talk, we do that already."

Marco looked at the lake, it looked placid and clear but as Hekapoo explained this lake sat on top of a weird gas pocket. Even animals tended to stay away from it because they disrupt the balance between the gas and the water too much chemicals and pressures would collide like an overdone model volcano.

"I'll go first." Hekapoo hoped on to a stone.

"Fine," Marco hoped on a nearby stone. He felt the stone rumble beneath him as he looked around.

"Better keep moving, boy-o. You stay on anyone too long and you're likely to get shot off." Hekapoo kept moving.

Marco started to hop around.

As they kept moving the stones started to rumble and Marco started to sniff something. He kept moving and moving hoping he wouldn't be the one blasted.

"Having fun?" Hekapoo asked.

"Yeah, actually it's kinda like hop-scotch but more potential of being blasted."

As they moved around the rumbling got a little bigger.

"Lets heat things up." Hekapoo stuck her hand in the water and it started to boil. Hekapoo started to jump around quickly.

Marco followed her lead and jumped around when he noticed the stones began to rumble much faster after stepping on them.

Then all at once, they stopped.

"Huh?" Hekapoo paused as all of the rumblings stopped. "I guess we both win."

Then the whole lake rumbled at once. "What?"

Marco gulped, over his time in the dimension he'd picked up a bit of chemistry from alchemists and the point was that you mix things together because and Hekapoo's heat might have been too much.

Marco leaped off the stone and grabbed Hekapoo pushing her out of the lake. They hit the shore and Marco used his body to cover her just in time for the whole lake to turn into a massive geyser. All the water and stones were shot into the air with a huge explosion.

"Are you okay?" Marco said as the hot water finished splashing on him. He held himself over Hekapoo making sure she didn't get scolded.

"Yeah, thanks for the save. You didn't have to do that."

"Force of habit I guess. I mean, it's not right to let you date get soaked like this."

"Ugh!" Hekapoo let out sniffing the air. "there must have been a sulfur pocket there."

"Oh, that smells like-"

0000

"A fart?" Seraph finished the thought. "Less than romantic,"

"I think its more like rotten eggs." Hekapoo groaned, "Yeah, that killed the mood."

0000

A tear formed in space and Marco and Hekapoo stepped out. They stepped out onto a tropical island, an island Hekapoo had discovered ages ago, it was an isolated paradise. The island was covered with fresh fruits and wonderfully smelling flowers. Really a nice change after the sulfur smell. The island was bathed in the late afternoon sun.

Marco wearing a pair of red trunks was carrying a bunch of beach stuff following Hekapoo who was wearing a yellow two-piece bikini.

Marco had noticed long ago that Hekapoo was rather attractive it was even more apparent with her wearing a revealing swimsuit. Playing Volleyball was especially grueling for Marco.

"The water looks cool. Let's go swimming." Marco insisted.

"Okay, sure."

They quickly got into the water and swam around. Marco was really enjoying the feeling of the cool water.

Marco sank into the water noting how Hekapoo was doing the backstroke.

Trying to take his mind off things, "Uh, hey, how's your flame staying lit?"

Hekapoo dipped into the water sinking underneath it until only the flame and her horns stuck out, the flame moved higher until she popped up. "My flame moves, it's a subconscious thing I barely notice it. Great when you don't want to set something on fire by accident."

Hekapoo swam closer to him, "Hey Marco this is getting a little boring. Let's go something a little more active."

Before Marco could say anything something pushed them out of the water. A Belsco, basically a giant whale sized bird fish, it raised its head out of the water.

Both of them were stunned by the creature's arrival.

It started to swim them across the ocean, as the sun started to set they got most perfect view.

0000

Seraph laughed, "You were teasing dad!"

"Maybe a little," Hekapoo admitted. "I mean, your dad and I had gotten closer by then so we did flirt every once in a while. But it was a date so I decided to up my game a little and get a reaction. Plus its fun to see your dad all blush-y."

"Yeah, Janna has mentioned that before."

0000

They had gone skiing across icy mountains, they ended up wrestling large crocodiles in swamps, they ended up sword fighting pirates, they rode giants bats across a desert night sky, they played a game with high rollers in a casino, they rode giant mudslides, they watched the alignment of planets that warped space so it looked like the stars were streaking across the sky, they had so many adventures.

They didn't even know how long they lasted, at first they had only planned for it to last a few hours but as they stopped to think it was probably more like days. They had stopped to eat and sleep a couple of times so it should have been obvious.

Hekapoo was having fun and decided she wanted to do one more thing.

They had stepped into a club with music ragging.

"Dancing!" Hekapoo told Marco. "One last thing, let's have some food, some drinks, party, and dance."

"Yeah, I never really got to do that." Marco said, "Well, maybe there was that time at the Bounce Longe but I was worried about … someone trying to throw me off a cloud."

"Oh, I haven't been at the bounce longe for so long." Hekapoo let out, "My friend actually runs it but someone stole my scissors." She poked him in the shoulder, "It had a bit of taint after that, that and it started to lose its luster. It had been going on for centuries and I think it's started to wrap up the party." Hekapoo admitted. "Still, it's nice to go out and just let loose."

The pair made their way to the bar, "Okay if memory serves, a tradition of your people is to drink an unhealthy amount of liquor when you become 21. So, my treat drinks all you want we will get a booth eat up and dance the night away."

Hekapoo put in for the first open booth and they sat down for drinks.

Hekapoo had come in often enough that they knew her typical drink.

They even saved her a bottle, "Pour me one."

"I'll take one too," Marco asked.

"Well, Marco that's a little strong for you. That's Cosmic Sand, that basically distilled time-space." Marco looked at the glass of sandy-liquid star stuff, "That's strong stuff, Omni can barely drink a few cups without passing out, Lekmet can barely take one, Rhombulus can't even drink one, Glossaryck never touches the stuff after he spilled his pudding and I've only known one Butterfly that could take one glass without falling to the ground and Festivia liked to drink but she knew to pace herself and this drink she always took extra care-"

Marco grabbed her glass and drank it all down at once. He licked his lips, "This is good, I've had it before."

It was sandy that acted like a liquid, Marco didn't know how to describe the taste. It was warm and cold at once, it was like tasting a star there was a spark in every drop like he was drinking the essence of life. It didn't really cloud his mind like liquor but it made him feel more of himself, and more comfortable and a bit energetic.

Hekapoo was surprised, "Oh, well, okay, you heard the man. We'll take the bottle."

The soon reached a booth and ordered some food and drank.

They ended up talking and sharing stories and jokes.

"So, do you do this a lot?" Marco asked.

Hekapoo shook her head, "Not really, I've never been much for spending time with people. It's just not something …I can do."

"Really? You seem like someone that gets along with people easily. Hell, we started off as rivals but I'd call you a friend now."

Hekapoo smiled, "Yeah, you are the rare exception. It's not that I haven't dated before just a few times I did try to get close to people like that it didn't work out. Time does seem to get in the way and when you're immortal it doesn't make things any easier. It gives you more time, once you get to know people and you have that time you get to really know people. You know people too well. You get to know things about them you'd rather never know or they just die. So, then I just sort of stop trying and it just never happened that I would run into someone I wanted to get to know."

"What about me?"

Hekapoo smiled, "Rare exception Marco, I started to get to know you before I realized it."

"And do you think you'll end up knowing me too well one day?"

Hekapoo shock her head, "Marco, I have yet to find something that makes me not want to know you. You might be one of those that just dies before that happens."

"Well, that's bleak."

Hekapoo just shrugged. "I speak the truth."

As they finished talking a girl with a camera walked up to them, "Do you want a picture?"

"Sure," Hekapoo smiled moving closer to Marco.

"Oh!" Marco blushed.

"Marco, the blushing thing is cute but if this is supposed to be a date then don't worry about making a little physical contact."

"Okay," Marco placed an arm around her.

Marco was Awkward but tried to pose for the picture.

The girl quickly gave each of them a copy of the picture.

Tucking that picture away Hekapoo pulled Marco up, "Okay, enough of the talk Diaz show me your moves!"

"Yeah, I'm not much of a dancer."

"I think that's a lie, Marco that's the beauty of music you just let the music move you!"

Hekapoo pulled him to dance floor, her body dance, swayed, and jumped to the music. Marco started to move to the music, letting his body do whatever felt right.

Neither knew how long they were there, one song became a dozen.

Then it stopped, they both found themselves looking at each other.

The leader of the band spoke into the mike, "Okay, one last song folks and we're off. We're going to leave you with something slow."

Marco followed Hekapoo's earlier advice and listened to his body and moved to the music. He put his arms around Hekapoo pulling her close, one of his hand resting on her hips.

Hekapoo listened to her heart beating ringing in her ears, her arms taking hold of Marco. Slowly they swayed to the music never breaking eye contact.

Hekapoo thought about how she had never gotten close to anyone, not like this. Her entire history with people told her this would end badly one way or another but she couldn't find the strength to stop. Her history told her it would end badly but her heart told her that she wasn't going to find out something horrible about Marco. That this wonderful human was worth getting to know.

Marco hadn't gotten close to anyone in years, his memories of his life on Earth had long since been tuck away and forgotten. He gave up his life on Earth and here there was this amazing woman, most of his new life focused on her and he didn't mind that fact. The woman he was chasing for years was right there with him and that felt so right.

The music had stopped but they were still dancing unaware.

They listened to their bodies and moved closer to each other, and before either one realized it they were kissing.

Neither one of them had ever had an experience like this, to share such a passionate embrace and they drowned in the emotion neither one to stop just yet.

They stopped and pulled away when they realized they had ended up pushing against a wall.

They stared at each other breathless, both realizing some other club goers staring.

Hekapoo pulled out her scissors and quickly created a rift right on the wall and the two had tumbled into and fell into her bedroom and onto her bed.

As the rift closed they began to kiss another again now in privacy. They tumbled onto the bed and pulled away realizing the situation and what it meant.

"Uh…" Hekapoo paused, "Do- do you want to? I mean, if you don't- we don't- we should-"

"Do you want to?" Marco blushed.

"Do you want to?"

Marco stared at her his hand gently stroking her cheek.

"Hekapoo…" Marco answered her question by kiss her again.

Hekapoo kissed him, she shivered at the kiss. Marco had lit a fire in her, the fire burned more intensely than any she could ever conjure. She didn't know when Marco had lit it, maybe it was during the dance when they swam, or maybe it was when they first met.

To think she had lived so long and never experience such emotion. To think just a few decades ago she would have laughed at the notion that a human could ever make her feel anything like this, but at the moment she wanted to feel everything he could give her and she wanted to give him everything.

The pair sank into the bed and slowly began to shed their clothes.

0000

"Mom! Mom! Mom!" Seraph clapped her hands.

"Huh?" Hekapoo looked around confused.

"Mom, you were talking about your first kiss with dad and you started to trail off and got all quiet."

Hekapoo's flame sputtered and her cheeks were flushed, "Well, yeah, it was a good kiss. It was amazing."

A ringing interrupted her thoughts, Hekapoo in a panic reached into her sash pulling out a compact mirror, "Who is it?!"

"Uh, It's Rhombulus we are having a meeting with the rest of the commission. Ferrovax and some of his brood have woken up and started attacking worlds looking for gold. We could use your help dealing with them."

"Uh, yeah, okay, I'll be there soon." Hekapoo blinked before turning to her daughter, "I'm sorry it looks like work is calling."

"Don't worry, I get it, mom. Go and save people!"

"Seraph," Angie stepped out of the kitchen, "go get cleaned up and then help me set the table for dinner everyone else should be here soon."

"Right, Grandma." Seraph gave her mother a kiss, "Bye mom," before heading upstairs.

Hekapoo smiled at her daughter before she searched for her scissors.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Angie asked her.

"Oh, sorry, but thanks, I can't." Hekapoo was surprised Angie had offered. "I'm off to work." She created a rift and stuck her hand in it. "I do have something, can you please give it to Marco." She pulled out a photo album, "It's all the pictures I took of Seraph growing up. It took me a while to get everything put together. I got to spend all that time with her and watched her take all those first steps. I figured he'd at least like getting pictures of those moments."

Angie took the album with a smile, "I'll make sure he gets it."

"Thanks," With that Hekapoo entered the portal.

Angie sat down and opened the album. She found pictures of Hekapoo holding baby Seraph, her first steps, giving baby Seraph a bath in the sink, Seraph taking a nap next to Nachos, a young Seraph playing in the forge and holding up a pair of scissors, Hekapoo teaching her how to ride Nachos and so many precious memories.

Angie was happy, she had listened to Hekapoo's story from the kitchen and she read between the lines. She could tell that Hekapoo did truly care about her son and that her son did care for her. She knew they both loved their daughter but there was feeling that she was born of lust but now Angie was certain that Seraph was the product of something more than that.

0000

Hekapoo found herself back at the forge after a long and tiring day at work. She stepped out and head to the backyard intending to take up a new hobby of hers.

But her mind started to wander back to the end of the date she had with Marco.

0000

Hekapoo woke up, she didn't sleep often but she started to find herself taking naps sometimes with Marco, sleeping seemed to have become a habit.

As she yawned she realized she wasn't alone in her bed, that Marco was fast asleep next to her.

Hekapoo was speechless, she had sex with Marco. She had no idea of what to do next, it's not like she had done this before and she was sure Marco hadn't either. She noticed scratches and bite marks on Marco's body. Then she noticed she had her fair share too.

She wanted to run away but she found herself held close to Marco by his strong arm and just couldn't do it.

After a moment she found Marco's eyes fluttering.

He smacked his lips, "Morning," Marco stared at her, her beautiful messy red hair cascading around her. She looked like a dream. Then he remembered what they did the night before. "Oh god!"

"You said that a lot last night." Hekapoo buried her face in his chest, his really nice well-toned chest.

"We-"

"Yup!"

"We!"

"Yeah!"

"And we!"

"Right, about six times stud."

Marco's eyes went blank, "We didn't use any protection- And we- And I-" He motioned at her, "Six times!"

Hekapoo saw where this was going, "Don't worry, you won't get me pregnant."

"Are you sure?"

Hekapoo decided she trusted him, she let herself be vulnerable with him and she didn't regret it. She explained it to him how they wouldn't be able to have a child together and why. Their species just couldn't breed. She asked him to keep it a secret and he agreed without hesitation.

They stayed silent there for a moment.

"What now?" Marco asked.

"Marco, do you want your scissors?"

"What?"

Hekapoo told him, "Marco, you've long since proved to me that deserve those scissors. You've done great things, helped people, and I'm sure you won't abuse their power. Even if you haven't blown out my flame you have earned them. If you want-"

"No, I want to earn them right. I don't want to end this trial early. I want to prove it to myself too. I want to earn these right and blow out that flame."

Hekapoo smiled to herself, "And how about last night? I thought it was fun."

"Yeah, it was really fun, you were amazing."

Hekapoo blushed a little, "You were amazing too."

"This going to make the trial a little weird."

"Does it? It was during a timeout. Everything that happens during the timeout doesn't count, right?"

"I guess."

"We can still hang out, and if another night we decide to have repeat performance of last night … I wouldn't mind."

"I wouldn't mind either." Marco smirked, "But are we something now?"

"I don't know, " Hekapoo admitted, no jokes or quips, "I've never had anything like this… for now how about we just take it as it comes. We get through the trial and timeouts and then when this is all over we can talk. Until then we just-"

"Take it day by day," Marco whispered to her.

They stayed cuddled in bed for a moment, "Marco, I can feel you."

Marco looked at her confused and then realized what he meant, and turned his hip away, "Sorry."

"I didn't say I minded. We're still on a time out and I don't have anywhere to be." She gave him a devilish grin.

They didn't leave the Forge for the next three days. In that time Marco realized that Hekapoo didn't really bother to keep a well-stocked kitchen. He found enough to make them breakfast and ended up showing Hekapoo how to make a good omelet. Despite her age, Marco couldn't believe she didn't know how to cook for herself. They both just hung out and had fun, isolated together in their own little world.

Eventually, the trial was back on. Hekapoo made him a portal right back to the spot she found him.

He stepped out, dress and all his things ready for the day.

Hekapoo stood behind him wearing a black robe. "So, this is where we part. Back to the trial, break officially over. But before you go let me give you some advice, go to that forest."

"That forest?" He looked to the valley where a thick forest stood.

"Yup, let's just say I think you might find something useful. So, until we-" Hekapoo stopped talking as Marco pulled her for one more kiss.

Marco smiled as he pulled away, "One last kiss for the road. See you soon H-poo!"

"H-Poo!" Hekapoo sputtered. "You are not calling me that!"

Marco chuckled, "Well, after what we did the last few days I think I can give you a cute pet name." He liked seeing Hekapoo flustered.

"Don't you think about it!" Hekapoo smiled slapping him in the back his head. "Now get going I'm waiting for you." Quickly she stepped into the portal letting it close.

Marco smiled as he walked into the forest, soon because of those words of advice he'd run into a very loyal friend, soon he'd find his Nachos. A constant companion that would keep him from getting lonely or melancholy while on his trial.

As he walked towards the forest he found a photo in his pocket, the one of him and Hekapoo and the club now with a message written on it. Marco read it to himself smiling as he did. With a renewed vigor he headed out to find the next clone.

0000

Hekapoo looked at her backyard, over the years she tended to her garden. There was a reason Seraph knew that a certain flower was her mother's favorite and that was because her backyard was with celosia. It was almost a red forest by itself.

Hekapoo saved the flowers that Marco had given her and planted their seeds and tended to them for years now. Over time more and more of those flowers bloomed and now it seemed to have become a forest itself.

Whenever she felt lonely she'd come to tend to the garden, when she missed her daughter she'd come here and just remembered the good times.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hey guys, I hope you guys liked a chapter focusing on a little on Marco's time on the trial. I wanted to address some concerns, first yes I still don't have a beta I am looking for one to help me out with my grammar. So if interested in helping let me know. Second off people have been concerned that the crustal clear chapter would be my only one for December. Don't get impatient people, i literally just gave you guys a mess of chapters over Thanksgiving weekend. So please be patient, I might not be able to post as often as I like but I have job and other stories and things to do. So please don't just tell me when the next update is coming because that irritating as hell and really turns me off from working on this story. And I won't update until I update my prince Marco story and I have to work on something else for a bit. So just please understand. Leave a review if you like and just know the next arc will be something fun.**


	13. Chapter 13: The Quest

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any elements of Star Vs.**

 **Special Thanks to my beta APraeda.**

* * *

Chapter 13: The Quest

Star was packing up her things as the last class came to an end. Star was eager to get back home - it was Friendship Thursday. It has been a while since they had a normal Friendship Thursday, though this wasn't exactly normal either. Normal had been changed to include Seraph.

Marco wanted to start showing Seraph some movies. She often missed references to pop culture, so Marco thought this would be fun way to make her catch up.

Star would admit that she missed having the night just between them, but she understood why Marco wanted to let Seraph join them.

Class was over and everyone was heading out. The room was almost all emptied out. Marco looked over "Okay, ready to go."

The air around the room wavered as a rift formed before them and Hekapoo stepped out.

"Mom?" Seraph was confused, neither she or Marco expected her to show up.

Some of the students stared at the arrival of Seraph's mother and quieted down to see what brought this magical being. Even some people in the hallway stopped to peek into the room.

"Huh, so this is your school." Hekapoo looked around, not realizing all the eyes on her. "Its design reminds me of that prison we were in."

"Huh? It kinda does." Marco looked around, starting to realize the similarities.

"Wait, you were in prison?" Janna, overhearing that, spoke sounding a tad impressed.

"Together?" Star questioned it further.

"Long story." Marco shook his head "There was an insane king who imprisoned everyone who disagreed with him. One of her clones was imprisoned there, so I got caught and thrown in to find her."

"Then we broke out and led a revolt, overthrowing the king." Hekapoo finished his story. "It's not that interesting."

"You led a revolt?" Janna asked.

"Another one?" Star added.

Jackie, who was one of the people looking in from the hall, let out "Another one?!"

Marco didn't even take that in. "… Actually, that might have been the third or fourth one."

Star made a note to sit down with Marco and ask him in greater detail about what he did in that other dimension.

Marco got back on point. "Hekapoo, what are you doing here?"

"Right, " she pulled out a scroll, "I'm here to invite you two on a quest."

"A quest?" Seraph looked at her mother curiously.

"A long time ago, I made a something that would help the users become more powerful." Hekapoo began to explain, "…I never got all the kinks worked out, but it showed a lot of promise and worked well enough. Before I could really get into it though, someone stole all my prototypes."

"Couldn't you have just made more?" Marco pointed out.

Hekapoo shrugged. "I guess I could have, but the material to make them is rare and then I was looking for the thieves and just sort of lost interest in the project. Though I made sure to keep an ear out for any clue about where they went. I never really heard much about them until today. I found this map with clues and a description of my stuff. It was mixed in with some of the stuff we found when me and the commission beat back Ferrovax. And guess where the map leads?"

"No clue." Seraph shook her head.

"Earth!" Hekapoo unraveled the scroll, "That's why I'm inviting you two. You can help me get around this world better."

"Where on Earth?" Marco asked.

Hekapoo glanced at the scroll and pulled out a modern day map of Earth, "Okay, let's see. I think you call it Paris."

"France or Texas?" Marco asked.

Glancing at it again, Hekapoo answered. "France."

A lot of the people still around picked up on the location.

Marco quickly grabbed the scroll. "So you're saying this is a quest to a foreign land, solving riddles and puzzles and daring challenges all just to get some ancient magical relic?"

"Yeah, that sums it up."

Marco squealed before pulling out his scissors and opening a portal, running into it. No one expected that.

"So, is that a normal human reaction?" Hekapoo looked around.

Just as confused, the others just shook their heads.

"Yeah, didn't think so." Hekapoo turned to her daughter. "So, how was your day at school?"

"Pretty good, we're starting a new book. It looks like it's gonna be an interesting read."

"What is it about?"

"About Mocking Birds and why they sing,"

"Sounds fun."

I would not be.

Marco quickly jumped out of the portal, now wearing his black leather jacket, a leather fedora and carrying a whip.

"I finally get to live out my Indiana Jones fantasy."

"A trip with your baby mama and your kid that you just found out about. Hope you liked the Crystal Skull." Janna mumbled to herself.

Jackie walked forwards. "Why do you have a whip?"

Janna smirked and just glanced at Hekapoo in an accusing manner.

Everyone just looked at Marco being a dork. Well, he was living the dream. Most of the people still remaining started to leave. Most understood that this had nothing to do with them.

"I get to go on a quest with my parents!" Seraph's eyes grew bright.

"Right you are, let's get going." Hekapoo patted her daughter's head.

"Yeah! Let's get going!" Star placed an arm around Seraph. "This sounds like fun."

"Uh… sure, okay." Hekapoo wasn't expecting Star to invite herself.

Janna was overlooking the scroll, focusing on a drawing of a manor. "Hey! I know this place."

"You do?" Marco questioned.

"Yeah, it's a famous Haunted house, super old and has a lot of stories about people vanishing when they go in there. Now France doesn't even let people in there anymore. If you're going there, I am coming along too. Visiting it is on my bucket list."

Marco couldn't refuse her - if she knew about the house, she might be helpful. That and he was certain he couldn't keep Janna away if she was interested.

"What does it say here?" Janna pointed to the scribbling next to the house.

"I don't know, a riddle?" Marco looked at it. "I can't read it, it's in French."

They heard a chuckle, It had come from Brittney, "I can. Take me along and I'll translate for you."

"You want to go on adventure with us?" Marco couldn't believe it.

Brittney just scoffed. "No, but I do want a free trip to Paris. There is a lot of great shopping you can only do there. I can't even order De Miraculous Chair Noir Perfume, you have to go pick it up in store!"

Marco could believe that. "Okay, that's a deal."

Jackie spoke, "If everyone else is going, mind If I tag along?"

"What? No, the more the merrier." Star quickly replied.

"I wanna come too!" Starfan 13 yelled out, hugging Star, "If Star is going, I'm going."

Hekapoo huffed, "I'm not so sure." Hekapoo looked the fan girl up and down.

"Please let them come along!" Seraph pleaded with her mother, giving her big puppy dog eyes. "I want them to see how awesome you are!"

Hekapoo relented. "Well, if everyone is ready, let's get this quest started."

0000

They dumped all their bags and stuff into Marco's room through his portal and then headed to France.

A portal opened up in Paris and the group walked out into a dark street. As they walked out, they looked around. Since it was late at night, it seemed mostly everything was closed.

"Wait, why is everything closed?!" Brittney shouted.

"Uh, France is nine hours ahead of California, so it's nearly midnight." Marco was quick to inform her.

"But my shopping!"

"I'll bring you here another day, on the weekend or something, so it will be day and you can shop all you want."

Brittney stared at him suspiciously, "Okay Diaz, but don't think of backing out of our deal."

"Shouldn't we be closer to the outskirts of Paris?" Jackie looked at the map.

"Yeah, but this is a quest and there are rules." Marco raised a finger before he and Hekapoo both turned to Seraph.

"Okay, what do you do for a quest?" Hekapoo questioned her daughter. "What is the first thing you have to do to get ready?"

"Access the situation" Seraph answered.

"And what else?" Marco prodded her.

"Find what you need for the quest."

"So, what do we need?" Hekapoo asked next.

"Okay, we don't have a lot of details. If anything, it looks most like a dungeon crawl with some people we have to escort through it."

"That's good, but expand on it." Marco told her.

"Okay, okay." Seraph bounced on her heels. "You, mom and me and Star would have to deal with any monsters we come across. This map seems old and forgotten so we probably won't deal with anything like that, but there could still be dangerous traps."

"Right, " Hekapoo nodded, "Me and your dad will take point - should we run into anything dangerous, we will deal with it. Star and you will be in charge of keeping the girls safe and, if needed, providing support with long range attacks. For the most part, judging by all the clues, this is probably going to be a lot of traps and puzzles, so fighting is low priority."

"We still have to be careful and make sure we stay together and careful." Marco made it clear. "This looks like a short run, but before every quest you should always make sure to-"

Seraph sighed, "Make sure you eat."

"Right!" Hekapoo smiled, patting her head.

"Mom!" Seraph bemoaned.

They decided to go to a nearby café and get some pastries. They didn't have any local currency, but when you give someone a few hundred dollars, they usually take it.

"What's with all the RPG talk?" Janna asked while drinking her hot chocolate with a cupcake.

"Master Monroe." Both Hekapoo and Marco spoke with reverence.

Marco smiled as he started off, "When I was chasing Hekapoo, I needed some money as I tried to locate her. I found a guild and joined up. They gave me food and a place to stay, they even helped me get some jobs to earn money. It was run by this guy called Monroe."

"Little old dog guy with a Scottish accent." Hekapoo smirked. "I found Marco and when he went off on a quest, I went to the guild and joined up." Hekapoo snickered at the memory.

"Yeah, when I came back and saw her, I ran at her trying to blow out the flame while she was distracted." Marco shook his head, "But the instant I got close enough to try and blow out her flame, Monroe smacked me down with his cane."

"The guild was pretty famous for having a certain rule - no member of the guild can attack each other"

"Yeah, if someone tried to attack another guild member he'd smack you with his cane." Marco rubbed his head.

Hekapoo giggled, "You gave up after the third attempt."

"He hurled me across the hall with that cane of his, I wasn't going to see what he would do at a fourth attempt." Marco wasn't even sure how Monroe got so close to him without making him notice every time. Marco shook his head and got back to the point, "Anyway, those rules about quests - we got them from him. He drilled them in our always made sure every guild member had a good meal before they left on a quest. Things happen and it was best to make sure you had a good meal when you could. He treated everyone in the guild like family."

Hekapoo chuckled. "I knew that and joined just because I knew it would make things harder for Marco."

"You set me up." Marco shook his head.

"Yeah, you're easy to read sometimes, and it just gave me more chances to mess with you. I'd get protection without even having to lift a finger."

"Uh, why didn't you just quit?" Jackie asked, sipping on some tea.

Marco shrugged. "Well, it was a kind of a challenge, plus while being in the Guild I picked up skills, learned a lot, met a lot of great people, got three meals a day and a place to sleep. That and I was saving the money I was making to get supplies for the trial. Also, Monroe was such a nice old man - it would be impossible to go to him and tell him you're quitting."

Even when he hurled him across the hall, Monroe somehow raced across the room and caught him before he hit the floor - he did it just to scare Marco.

"Yeah, that old schemer, he would assign me and Marco on quests all the time. He made it very clear that we weren't allowed to hurt the other one in any way."

Star asked, "So what happened?"

"Yeah, but that was around my second, maybe third year in that dimension" Marco continued. "I had just been barely scraping by thus far, but then I joined the guild that changed. Monroe took me on to teach me how to survive and hunt and do all sorts of things. He taught me things I would never have figured out on my own, at least not as quickly. He helped me become better. The whole guild was filled with amazing people - they would laugh and joke and we'd always have amazing adventures."

"Seems like you guys had fun there?" Jackie noted.

"Yeah, we did." Marco admitted, taking a sip from his drink.

"Oh, I loved being there. I had access to Marco for days at a time when we were both at the guild. I would just mess with him all the time!" Hekapoo chuckled.

"That wasn't as fun." Marco took a bite from his pastry.

"Oh, do you remember the time I warped the threshold of your bathroom so that when you stepped out, you walked right into one of the girl's room?"

"You didn't have to steal my towels too." Marco said irritated.

Hekapoo was already laughing at the memory, "You ran so fast out of there! Ha! Down the hall! Yelling like a screeching owl!" Marco pouted, "Oh, don't be like that, some of the guys actually gave you a round of applause."

"That's not the point,"

"I got you dinner that night and explained it to the guild."

"Yeah, but you kept stealing food off my plate."

"I don't eat that much, what do you care if I nibble a little off your plate."

"I don't mind sharing food. I did mind you stealing my stuff all the time."

"Nothing that you were using at the time and I always gave it back." Hekapoo moved over and placed an arm around Marco. "Come on Mister Grumpy, you know I was just playing with you."

Marco let out a snort. "I guess. You just have an odd way to show affection."

"Well, it worked for us." Hekapoo glanced at her daughter, dipping a cookie into some chocolate milk.

"Yeah, it did." Janna whispered to herself as she watched Marco wipe crumbs off Hekapoo's cheek.

Janna looked at her reflection in her drink and thought how she'd pretty much done the same thing with Marco for years, but Hekapoo had gotten a lot closer to Marco than she had.

They might not have been a couple, but they got along so well and they had this cool daughter.

"So, what happened?" Starfan questioned them, "You're not in the guild anymore, right?"

They both grew quiet for a moment.

"We must have been at the guild for maybe eight months when age got him" Hekapoo spoke with solace. "There are two ways to become guild master. One is by beating the current master in duel and the other by the previous one stepping down or dying and naming you the successor. Monroe left me in charge when he passed away."

"We worked together to keep things in the guild in order and from falling part. Everyone took it pretty hard when he died." Marco told them while looking at his drink, "After that was done I challenged Hekapoo. It was the only fighting that was allowed in the guild."

"We could have changed that rule…" Hekapoo admitted, "But it was Monroe's rule, a rule he set up to keep everyone close and friendly. It wasn't something either one of us would break."

"Yeah, that was when you set up the challenge for the duel, a sword fight."

"Yeah, it seemed right. Monroe spent months trying to teach you to use that thing. He said it would save your life. Your martial art skills were good, but you should carry a weapon."

"He was right, it did save me a lot of times."

"You didn't have it down yet though. So, I made it the challenge."

"You smacked me with your sword every time I tried to fight you."

"But you started to get better and eventually got good enough to disarm me and blew out my flame."

"Then I became the guild master. I stayed there for a little while, making sure everything was taken care of and getting all the supplies I could carry. Then I went back to the trial full time."

"Yeah," Hekapoo smiled, "when Seraph was born I told her a lot of stories about our time in the guild."

"Yeah, and I told her a lot of stories about guild life too." Marco admitted.

Seraph sipped on her drink, shrinking in her chair.

Marco admitted, "Monroe left a deep impression and gave us a lot of good advice. It's hard not to pass that on."

StarFan13 clapped a bit at the end of their story. Brittney just looked on quietly - she, like everyone at school, had heard about their odd relationship and kept her thoughts to herself for the moment.

Star, Janna and Jackie just stared, learning another level of Marco's life and his relationship to Hekapoo. Marco and Hekapoo had 16 years together - they had grown from rivals to something much more.

Marco and Hekapoo both raised their drinks, Marco saying, "To Monroe."

"The best guild leader Dragon's Flare Guild ever had." Hekapoo smiled.

0000

They traveled to the manor via another rift, finding an old metal gate locked up with heavy chains and locks. The manor was old and looking over a scenic view of the river, and on the other side a lush forest gave it plenty of privacy.

"Oops~!" Hekapoo smirked as she touched the chains and locks, melting them in a moment. She kicked the gate open and they started to walk to the manor.

"Okay, Janna, anything you want to share about this place?" Marco questioned.

"Well," Janna began, "this entire land was prime real estate even in old times. Some nobles just showed up one day and bought this land from the king at the time. Over time they built this huge house, the Trésor Manor. The King was willing to give them titles and everything, but they all just wanted to be left alone."

"Probably the thieves" Hekapoo noted. "Trying to hide on Earth. Never did find out who stole my stuff, must have been trying not to bring attention to themselves. I probably wasn't the only person on the lookout for them."

Janna continued, "No one talked to the owners, the king just let them stay to themselves. Time passed and eventually everyone assumed that they had died. Some people were sent to check on them, but they never came back. They sent more people to talk to them and they vanished too, and that kept happening until they sent someone and they did come back. They walked up here one day bringing every tool and item they thought they could need and found the doors open. They walked into the house but found no one - everything was left untouched and undisturbed. After everyone who had vanished the king kept to his words. The house would always remain there and the land would never be divided. The king's grandson did eventually give the land to another group of nobles, long after everyone forgot the story, but they vanished within days. People went to look for them, searched around the house and started to vanish. People kept checking the house over the years and more people disappeared. They got scared and stopped trying to go there. Some nights people who are either too brave or too stupid are said to come up here and vanish. Some nights, people swear that they see figures in the windows, that rooms are lit and people are moving inside. Some say that those who vanished are still inside, hoping to find a way to escape."Janna looked over to the others, disappointed none of them seemed scared. "Eventually the government locked the place after the occupation in WW2 when they heard some German officers decided to squat in there and no one saw them again. There came a few ghost hunters to look into the place - some vanished, but the ones that didn't never found anything. Though they were fined for trespassing."

"Doesn't sound like a haunting?" Hekapoo scratched her head. "Ghost can be pretty territorial and they can make a lot of noise if someone goes into their place. They can be pretty dangerous, but they're not really about keeping people - most would rather have people leave as fast as possible, or at least leave some remains."

As they reached the door, Marco looked back. "Okay, everyone stay close to each other, keep your eyes open and speak up if you think you see anything strange."

"Yeah, Marco" Jackie chuckled, "we've seen horror movies before, we aren't some stupid teens going into a haunted house from which no one comes out of …." Jackie paused. "Wow, we're literally teens going into a haunted house that no one seems to come out from. We're already breaking rule one of what not to do in horror movies."

"And I have never actually seen any horror movie." Seraph pointed out.

"And most of us are minorities" Janna pointed out. "That doesn't speak well for us."

That train of thought came to an end when Marco kicked open the door. "Everyone just be careful."

"We'll be fine." StarFan13 assured the others, "We have Star and her wand, Marco and his daughter and Hekapoo! What can stop them?"

"Now you're just jinxing us." Janna let out.

0000

They walked through the dark rooms that were only lit by Hekapoo's flame, finding stuff left behind by previous tenants that seemed like no one was brave enough to come back for.

Marco handed the map to Brittney. "Okay, there is a riddle written here, translate."

Brittney sighed, already annoyed that she wasn't getting her shopping trip today. "Give me a moment, translating is an art, not science. Uh…'To get the treasure you seek one must start where we eat. The first step is to light what lies within and reflect. Face a test made by yourself and try not to die to get to the other side."

"That sounds like we have to go to the dining room." Star pointed out and they walked there.

They quickly found the room, discovering it was pretty dusty.

They found a single candle waiting on the table, sitting on a gold candle stand.

"Uh, why is the candle new?" Brittney pointed out. "Everything is else is dusty but the candle is clean."

"It looks old, like, style-wise." Jackie pointed out. "Like it was made at the same time the manor was."

"I think it's part of the test thing." Janna looked at it. "Light it!"

"Okay, everyone stand back." Hekapoo waited for everyone to take a step back and let a flame spark on her finger, lighting it. Marco got ready to fight, Star readied her wand and Seraph got ready to do anything she could.

Nothing happened - the candle just flickered. Hekapoo looked at a mirror that sat above the fireplace and how they were being reflected in it. "I guess that didn't-" The mirror glowed and hummed and the images vanished, leaving only the candle's glow.

Then Hekapoo's light went out.

Suddenly the chandelier above their head lit up filled with magical light. The room was warm and bright and clean, as if ready for huge banquet.

Marco looked at himself in confusion. His clothes had changed - he was dressed like a prince, with a red jacket with shoulder tassels and everything.

He looked around to make sure everyone was safe, but they had their clothes and hair changed too.

Hekapoo was wearing a crystal blue off the shoulder dress with a knee-high slit on her right. Along with it she wore a long, transparent cape and snow-white heels. Her hair was now in long french braids.

Seraph was wearing a purple dress with pink accents, a lavender corset with a lace pink ribbon on top. Her shoes were missing for some reason now. Her hair was tied into a long french braid with flowers woven into it.

Star tugged at her own dress. It was a dark teal traditional gown made out of cotton with stylish slits for movement. It was a simple dress with gold trimmings.

Janna seemed saddened that her favorite beanie hat had gone missing - Marco wasn't even sure what was the last time he saw her without it. She was wearing a lavender greek dress with golden straps, a long skirt with the hem ending just above her orange-sandaled feet.

Jackie found herself wearing a periwinkle dress and her sea-shell necklace now seemed to be part of it. She had an extra transparent skirt over her normal one that flowed behind her, reminding Marco of a wave hitting the shore.

StarFan13 seemed delighted by her outfit change - she wore a sparkling silvery-blue ball gown, with opera gloves and a delicate white petticoat. Her hair was done in a traditional french twist, complemented with a light silver band replacing her horn headband.

Brittney had a conflicted expression on her face. She was wearing a golden ball gown with a simple bodice, wrapped off-the-shoulder sleeves, with long yellow opera gloves matching her outfit. Her long wide-hemmed floor length skirt went down to her yellow high heeled shoes. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail by a golden ribbon.

"Whats going on?" Janna fiddled with her dress.

"Not sure" Hekapoo tried to pull out her braids.

"Hey, we both have braids!" Seraph pointed to her mom.

Hekapoo gave her daughter a smile, "Uh, I'm not sure, but I think it's the first test to get to the treasure. Reflection, it's supposed to reflect us in some way. The mirror reflecting the light of the candle was a trigger."

"So we're all dressed like princesses because?" Jackie turned to Star.

"Don't look at me! I hate those princess movies!" Star flailed her arms. "They project the idea of perfect princess and it's just not fair standards for real princesses!"

Marco groaned. "Your point is valid, Star! But we've been through this, they have stopped trying to do that. Most of the movies now have more three-dimensional princess with faults to overcome, compelling motivations, and their own goals besides just marrying a prince and being pretty. They are trying to make better princesses for girls to aspire to be like. I'm not going to have this argument again!"

All the light left the room, and then it all went back to reveal a man standing where the candle had been. This man's skin was wax-like and Marco realized he was made of wax with his clothes gold like the candle holder. A wick stuck out of the top of his head lit.

Music started to fill the air and the man started to tap his foot.

Be our guest

Be our guest

"Is he singing?" Hekapoo questioned.

"Yeah, what's with that?" Star pointed out, "You don't just have a musical number. How does everyone know the lyrics and how to dance in time with everyone?"

"Not again!" Marco let out. "Not now!"

Put our service to the test

Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie

And we provide the rest

Chairs came to life and moved behind them until they sat down. Napkins jumped off the table and wrapped around their arms, tying them down to the chairs which scooted right up to the tables.

Dishes and plates revealed themselves and to the group's disgust they all seemed to have food made of human entrails.

"I think we know what happened to everyone that went missing." StarFan13 cringed.

Soup du jour

Hot hors d'oeuvres

Why, we only live to serve

"I think they're gonna eat us!" Star let out, trying to get out of her bounds.

"I didn't sign up for this!" Brittney yelled.

Try the grey stuff, it's delicious

Don't believe me? Ask the dishes

Brittney stopped yelling when a dish pulled right up to her - she was sure that was brains. One of the dishes started to eat the brains.

Marco and Hekapoo started to fiddle with their bounds.

They can sing

They can dance

Knifes began to dance on the table as they moved to the group.

Marco hopped on the chair, "Come on!"

"You used to be faster at this!" Hekapoo moved her arms until her arm spikes started to cut through the napkins.

"I'm out of practice. You haven't tied me up in years."

"Been busy!" Her bounds broke. "Maybe you should try taking the initiative."

Marco let his weight hit the wooden chair and it broke beneath him, releasing him.

He jumped up.

As Star struggled, she found Seraph leaning over and using her horn to cut one of Star's hands free. With a hand free she pulled her other one free. Quickly, Hekapoo and Marco rushed to their daughter's side to free her.

After all, Miss, this is France

And a dinner here is never second best

Go on, unfold your menu

Take a glance and then you'll

Be our guest

The knives rushed at them. Hekapoo held out her arms as she intended to melt them all, but no sparks, not a single flame formed.

"Come on! Come on!" Star waved her wand trying to blast them.

"Your powers aren't working!" Marco yelled, seeing Seraph's powers were failing too.

"I see that!" Hekapoo told him, "Just let it go!"

Hekapoo grabbed the table cloth and yanked it off, throwing everything around as she Candle Man just jumped avoiding being tugged off and kept in rhythm with the dance.

From another room knight armors started to march towards them.

Oui, our guest

Be our guest

Beef ragout

Cheese souffle

Pie and pudding "en flambe"

We'll prepare and serve with flair

The armors pulled out swords and readied their attack.

Marco growled as he found his scissors were not transforming. "Seraph! Star! Get them free! We've got these."

"Marco!" Star panicked.

"We've got this!" Hekapoo rushed at the nearest armor, impaling it with her horns. The armor fell to pieces and she grabbed its sword. Using it quickly she stabbed another one and, as it fell, grabbed its sword and tossed it to Marco. Armed, he rushed with sword in hand.

"Okay, you've got this." Star mumbled as she went to help her friends.

A culinary cabaret

You're alone

And you're scared

But the banquet's all prepared

No one's gloomy or complaining

While the flatware's entertaining

As the knives moved towards them again, Janna kicked one into the air and caught it, using it to free herself. Seraph and Star moved to free StarFan13 and Jackie.

We tell jokes

I do tricks

With my fellow candlesticks

Countless candles rushed towards the girls, huge flames shooting out of the wicks.

"Uh, are you still flame proof?" Star asked Seraph.

"I'm not sure." Seraph admitted.

"Don't risk it then."

They both quickly dodged the flames, pulling the newly freed Jackie and Janna away.

Marco spotted this and slashed a rope by the wall - and the chandelier fell right on the candles.

"Thanks dad!" Seraph called out.

"Catch!" Hekapoo grabbed another two sword from the armor and tossed them towards Star and Seraph. They quickly grabbed them to defend themselves.

"What's going on?" Marco asked Hekapoo as they fought.

"I think this whole place is a Reflection test! It's sucking up all of our magic to work." She stabbed another armor. "The test is meant to reflect us, all of us. You find the key holding it together and knowing us, it would be that guy." She motioned towards the candle man. "I think if we extinguish his flame, the test will end. If we don't, then when this song ends the whole place comes down on us."

And it's all in perfect taste that you can bet

Come on and lift your glass

You've won your own free pass

To be our guest

If you're stressed

It's fine dining we suggest

"Haunted mansion! With living furniture. I should love this." Janna yelled out annoyed as a wardrobe rushed at her and opened up. A lamprey mouth waited inside, trying to gobble her up.

"Janna!" Jackie smashed a trolley cart with food right at the wardrobe, pulling it away from her friend.

Star jumped up and stabbed it, pinning it to the floor.

Seraph was chopping up all the chairs and dishes attacking her as she freed StarFan13. The girl was actually just enjoying the song.

You walked in and oops-a-daisy!

It's a guest

It's a guest

Sakes alive, well I'll be blessed

Wine's been poured and thank the Lord

"Duck!" Marco yelled out.

Everyone fell to the floor and countless wine bottles pointed towards them, firing their corks. The walls behind them started to get Swiss-cheesed from the impacts.

"Can someone untie me now?!" Brittney yelled out, still tied to the chair and all the corks just missing her.

She'll want tea

And my dear that's fine with me

While the cups do their soft shoeing

I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing

I'll get warm

Piping hot

Tea kettles moved towards them, trying to shoot scalding tea in their direction. Seeing them coming the girls managed to escape, but it caused them to split up.

Heaven's sakes! Is that a spot?

Clean it up! We want the company impressed

We've got a lot to do

Is it one lump or two

The scalding liquid took the form of a human reaching for the escaping girls. Its fist expanded, smashing towards Star. The princess ducked just in time to miss the attack, but the wall wasn't as lucky as the liquid fist went right through.

For you, our guest

She's our guest

She's our guest

She's our guest

Be our guest

Be our guest

Marco yelled out to them, "Snuff out his flame! It should end this, we have to snuff it out before the end of the song!"

"Another flame to put out?!" Star couldn't help but question it.

"It reflects us, our thoughts, our past, our fears and desires." Hekapoo told them as she kicked a cracked tea cup.

Jackie looked around. She was starting to see some of them being reflected. Janna normally would have loved haunted furniture coming to life. The goal being putting out a flame was clearly tied to Marco, Hekapoo and Seraph's lives. The whole fancy banquet was probably something from Star's life as a princess. The dress up probably came from StarFan13. Jackie felt that everyone being pulled away was probably something she remembered from a certain sleepover and that Truth and Punishment game that had left her with some nightmares.

"Who thought up a musical number?" Janna punched a clock.

Our command is your request

It's ten years since we had anybody here

And we're obsessed

"Me!" Brittney yelled out, "I loved those movies! I loved the musical scenes. My dad used to watch the movies with me when I was small and call me his little princess! It was the most time we got to spend together!"

More candles arrived and tossed the tied up Brittney onto the table. Utensils moved around her and began to prepare.

With your meal

With your ease

Yes, indeed, we aim to please

While the candlelight's still glowing

Let us help you

We'll keep going

Cabinets grabbed Hekapoo and Marco, tossing them to the table.

Course by course

Dozen of tea cups rushed Star and pushed her onto the table.

One by one

The tea trolley came back and slammed into Jackie, throwing her onto the table. Chairs grabbed Janna and Starfan and threw them onto the table as well. Napkins wrapped around Seraph, dragging her onto the table and then tying up the others, keeping them from moving.

'Til you shout, enough, I'm done

"I'm done!" Brittney shouted, hoping that would end it.

The fireplace warped and changed, now the fully lit fire turning into a giant maw.

Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest

The candle man stood at the far end of the table and it tilted upwards so that the group started to slide towards the mouth.

Tonight you'll prop your feet up

But for now, let's eat up

Seraph, in panic, grabbed anything she could - which was a knife. Seeing the trick that Janna had done before she decided to try something. She turned to the side to get a look at the candle man.

Be our guest

They started to slide towards the fiery mouth that was eager to eat them up. They yelled out as they tried to slow their fall.

Be our guest

Seraph tossed the knife as hard as she could, hoping that having something more solid would help her aim.

Be our guest!

The knife cut through the wick.

Please, be our gu-!

The flame flickered out, now cut from the wick, and in a puff of smoke it vanished. Everything stopped and the room went dark, returning to its dusty former self. Untied and in their regular clothes, they all sighed in relief.

Everyone cheered at their survival. Marco and Hekapoo hugged their daughter.

"You were amazing sweetie!" Hekapoo cuddled her.

The table cracked beneath them and they hit the floor with a groan. Then, with a creak, the floor crack opened and swallowed them.

0000

Outside light shone through all the windows, and with a great big rumble the manor collapsed into itself until only wreckage remained.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: First off special thanks to my new beta APraeda for checking this chapter. Hope everyone liked far I think they've done a good job. Next it turns out this fanfic has inspired some art work, on deviant art go look for a piece named (marcoXhekapoo).UNITED FAMILY, svtfoe fan art. So that's pretty awesome. I'm working on some of my other stories but will try to update again so until then leave a review telling me what you thought of this chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14: Can't Handle It

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any elements of Star Vs.**

 **Special Thanks to my beta APraeda.**

* * *

Chapter 14: Can't Handle It

They found themselves in a tunnel, man-made from the looks of all the bricks it was built with.

The landing was rough, but it looked like they were safe.

"I'm done! I'm done!" Brittney yelled out. "I wanna go home!"

"Come on!" Janna groaned as she got up. "We survived a living house, what else could happen?"

Hekapoo disagreed. "She's right, I'm taking everyone back now." Taking out her scissors, she cut the air - but nothing happened. Her flame was back and she could sense magic running in her body. She slashed again. "No, no, they have a tramorfidian crystal in this place. I can't open a rift."

"I'll blast our way out!" Star readied her wand to fire upwards.

Marco placed his hand on her wand. "Star, no. We're underground - the blast could cause a cave-in and bury us."

"Oh, right." Star looked around - if she fired anywhere, that would certainly happen.

There were two open paths before them, each drenched in darkness.

"I think that's our way out." Jackie pointed out.

"Yeah," Hekapoo agreed, "the crystal is bound to be with the treasure so if we want to get it, we have to reach the end."

Marco noted there was a plaque between the doors. "It's a riddle. Brittney, we need to read this."

"No, no, no, no!" The rich girl refused, "I've nearly died today! I'm not doing any more of this."

"We can't get out unless we read this and you're the only one who can do that."

"I'm not doing it!" Brittney curled into herself as she started to shake.

Marco looked at Brittney who sat on the floor scared. Obviously almost getting eaten had shaken her.

Marco sighed, sitting beside her. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"Whatever."

"Brittney, please, I'm scared."

Brittney turned to him and found herself looking him straight in the eye. Slowly, he took her hand into his own, sandwiching them and holding them gently.

"I want to get Seraph home and I can't do that. The only one that can do that is you." Marco's voice was soft and gentle. "Please Brittney, we need your help. We need you."

"My help?"

"Yes, please. You're the only one who can do it."

"Me?"

"Yes, the only one."

"I'm the one."

"You are the one."

"I'm number one!"

"Yes you are!"

"I'm number one!" Brittney jumped on her feet and looked at the plaque. She kept repeating to herself "I'm number one. I'm number one."

Marco smiled as he got up.

"Uh, something else you learned in Hekapoo's dimension?" Jackie asked.

"Nope, just some psychology and a bit of some stuff I learned at a spiritual realization workshop at the community college my mom took me to. It's just boosting her ego when she was in a weak state. Letting her feel the power and then going with it. Honestly, I don't think she had a very good opinion about herself - it kinda makes her easy to trick if you know what to do."

"Sword fighting, manipulating, and super fertility, you're just the whole package, Diaz." Janna glanced at Marco.

Meanwhile, Brittney delighted. "Okay, it says 'Two paths lay before you - one the test of wisdom and heart, the other the test of strength. Careful about your choice - you will only get one chance.'"

"A physical trial and a mental one" Hekapoo surmised. "So, which one do we pick?"

Brittney spoke. "The one on the right is the physical one and to the left is the mental one."

Marco sighed. "Okay, let's just take the mental one. After fighting I don't feel like exerting myself more."

The others agreed and so Marco quickly stepped over the threshold of the left path - and as he did, the room began to shake, collapsing as the wall pushed in.

"One shot! Everyone go!" Hekapoo pushed the others in.

The chamber started to fall apart with rocks filling up the space, forcing everyone to jump onto the paths as they closed up. Marco, Seraph and StarFan pushed through left path. The others, in panic, pushed into the right path just before the room was filled with stones.

None expected that in the dark there was a slide - they screamed as they slid faster and faster into the unknown.

0000

"Self cleaning." Hekapoo groaned as she and the girls piled on the floor. "They made everything to fall apart behind them. Only one shot to get the treasure so don't try unless you mean to take it."

There was a glowing crystal above them in a small room at the bottom of the slide. Besides Hekapoo's flame it was the only source of light.

"Seraph? Marco?" Hekapoo looked around.

"Calm down." Star placated her. "I saw them go the other way with StarFan. They'll be fine. They're just stuck with the other test, we'll meet them at the end."

Hekapoo took a breath."Right. Let's just get going. What do we do? We're stuck doing the strength test."

Brittney got up and looked at the wall that blocked them, where words were written on the door out. "Uh, in this room there can be no lie, no deception or omission. The truth can unblock your path, but only truth freely given."

"What does that mean?" Star scratched her head.

"Thats a riddle, a test of the mind. We went to the right, which you said was for the physical test. "

"Uh, I might have gotten those two words mixed up."

Hekapoo grabbed Brittney with a fierce, terrifying look in her eyes.

Star quickly put a reassuring hand on her should. "Let her go." She tried to take a page from Marco's book and talk softly. "Marco and Serie are gonna be fine. Serie is super strong, she can probably pass the test by herself! And Marco is smart, he can probably figure out what they need to do. They're going to be fine, we just have to go meet them, H-Poo."

"Don't call me that!" Hekapoo turned on her heels to face Star. "Only Marco is allowed to call me that and even then I keep telling him not to do it."

"What?" Star was confused by the statement.

"I like him calling me that. No one has ever bothered to give me a nickname before. It's stupid and silly and makes me feel a nice in a kinda weird way. I know that he does that to tease me, but I like it and I don't want him to know that because it makes me feel vulnerable, and that's scary for me."

The girls stared at her, confused by it all.

"Oh." Janna grinned. "No one can lie in this room."

Hekapoo covered her mouth.

0000

Marco, StarFan and Seraph landed roughly onto the floor. Marco and Seraph had some training with karate and knew how to roll, so they landed a lot better than StarFan.

"Ow…"

"Are you okay?" Marco asked her.

StarFan looked at the scratched-up knee, all bloodied now.

"Oh, let me help you there." Marco smiled and pulled his fanny pack from underneath his shirt.

"Uh, a fanny pack?" Starfan cringed.

"Yeah, I keep all sorts of things in here, like a first aid kit." Marco pulled out some band aids and disinfecting spray.

"Helpful, but…" Seraph started.

"I know everyone thinks they're stupid, but they help." He turned to StarFan. "This is going to sting a bit."

StarFan hissed as he talked and cleaned her wound.

"I used my fanny pack during my first few days in Hekapoo's dimension. It really helped me out a lot. I restocked it whenever I could. Eventually it broke and I started carrying everything in bags or on Nachos. But it's always helpful. I used to carry these leaves that, when ground up, would heal any wound in hours." He bandaged her scrape. "So I don't care if it's silly. I'll just keep on carrying it for things like this." Marco sat down next to Starfan. "Let's just rest for a little bit."

"You don't have to wait for me. I can move. I don't want to hold everyone up." StarFan told him.

"No, I'm tired. Let's just rest a bit."

Seraph sat down by them too. Sure, her dad carried a fanny pack, but he was cool in his own way too.

0000

"So, let me ask you something." Janna stared at the forger. "You and Marco did the deed, was he … you know, good?"

Hekapoo clamped her hands tightly over her mouth, but she found herself unable to stop her mouth from moving, "M-Marco…was amazing!"

"He was?" Janna asked, leaning in slightly with a grin on her face.

The other girls could only stare and watch the events unfold before them, their cheeks reddening a little at the subject matter.

"Yes!" Hekapoo practically shouted. "He was amazing! He was wonderful, caring, tender, powerful, passionate-" Hekapoo desperately tried to cover her mouth. "He rocks my world!"

"Rocks your world?" Janna almost laughed.

"Yes!" Hekapoo blurted out, "He does, and he loves it when I tell him that in those words. He gets all giddy and it's sooo cute!"

"Our little Marco?"

"He's not so little." Hekapoo bit her lip.

Janna laughed, enjoying the situation and putting the powerful entity on the spot.

0000

Marco looked around himself.

Seraph noticed this and asked "Uh, dad, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just have this feeling."

"A bad feeling?" StarFan curiously asked.

"No, I don't think so." Marco blushed lightly. "It's kinda nice."

0000

Hekapoo was blushing - she didn't recall the last time she was flushed like this. The only reason she didn't flash-fry her was because she was a friend of Marco, but it was getting harder to hold off on that.

"Okay, so tell me - Marco says Seraph is a miracle that possibly shouldn't have happened, that the stars just aligned and out came his miracle baby." There was an edge, a dangerous accusatory edge to her voice. "Marco is safety kid, always has been - I doubt he'd just forget to wrap it before he taps unless he didn't think he'd need to at all. Unless he was with someone he really trusted who he didn't have to worry about that stuff with."

"What are you saying?" Hekapoo questioned, an uneasy edge growing in her tone.

"The last time you two hooked up was right before your game came to and end. " Janna stepped forwards. "Maybe you did something a little different, maybe you didn't want to let him go. Did you plan to get pregnant? Did you plan to have a little baby trap to keep Marco around? Maybe you planned to come in with a little bouncing baby and bring him back to you but the age thing with Seraph just didn't let things work out like you planned."

"Janna, Janna, Janna, Janna " Star spoke up, knowing Hekapoo's reputation. "No."

"No" Hekapoo said. She was enraged like Star expected, yet she also sounded sad. "I could never have planned for Seraph. If I had billion lifetimes I couldn't have expected I would ever be so lucky as to have Seraph." Hekapoo eyes filled with tears. "I wanted to have Marco stay with me that night. I just wanted to spend the night with him because I knew he might leave. I didn't plan for us to make love but maybe I hoped we would. I've never felt so close or so safe or so happy as the times we're together. I just wanted to feel like that one more time if he did decide to leave. But no, we shouldn't be able to have a child together, but we did - and that's why Seraph is our miracle. I thought I got so lucky, that I got to have some piece of Marco with me, but even she was taken away."

Hekapoo sniffled, the tears sliding down from her face. She couldn't even try to lie to herself at this point.

"I didn't mean for Marco to miss that time with Seraph and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. You don't know how much it hurts knowing I can't be with my little miracle."

"Oh…" Brittney, who didn't even really care about Hekapoo, felt that.

Something deeply personal was ripped out of Hekapoo because of that room and was now exposed for all to witness.

"And what?" Janna replied, clearly not going to stop. "You think it makes things better?"

"Janna, stop!" Jackie stepped in. She was being vindictive, something she honestly never thought Janna would be.

"Stop?!" Janna yelled at her friend in surprise. "She's the girl that dragged Marco away for years! She's the reason you're still not dating Marco! Why aren't you grilling her?!"

Jackie's mouth began to move, "I'm scared to hear what she might say."

She hadn't expected that herself.

0000

Marco was fiddling with his phone. He had hoped they'd be able to go online and translate the plaque on the door to find out what they had to do. As far as he knew, they were doing the mind test and were expected to do a puzzle. There were three slots by the door and three matching, heavy stone tablets. Marco assumed they were the key to the door but had no idea what else to do. They could probably lift them but it would probably require something else, maybe something on the plaque they couldn't read.

But his phone didn't work.

He only thought about it because he had gone to Quest Buy to make a complaint about his wallet and while he was there, he got an upgrade for his phone. It allowed to make calls across dimensions, making him think about getting to talk to Hekapoo more easily. It was working - they managed to talk more often, mostly about when it would be good for her to visit Seraph. But sometimes, they ended up talking about their days. Marco actually had started to miss talking to her.

"Oh, girl you got me actin' so cray cray~"

Seraph played with her compact - something Marco picked up when he got his upgrade and paid for with some of the tournament winnings. He figured that Seraph should always be able to talk to her mother and he didn't want to use all of Star's mirror minutes again.

"Oh, it's just like Star's." StarFan pointed out. It was a lot like Star's, but Seraph's had a dragon breathing fire as a decal.

"Yeah, she showed me how to download songs onto it. I put a bunch of Love Sentence songs and then it suggested this band too."

" _CRAY CRAY_

You tell me that you won't be my ba-bay"

"I just can't find their new album."

"Uh, yeah, I don't think they will make a new one." StarFan pointed out. "The whole band went missing last year. Then their manager got arrested - rumors online say they're hiding, afraid that he'll come for them. Though I heard on a blog that someone saw them running in the forest somewhere in Oregon."

Marco thought about the puzzle. Since he couldn't translate the instructions and he feared the wrong answer might get them killed, he decided just to strong-arm them.

He stretched out his hand and with a flash of light a large key formed. He pointed it at the door and a long ray of light beamed out, hitting it.

There was a click and the door opened.

"Okay, it's cheating a little but it works." Marco mumbled to himself.

"Marco! You have a magic key?" Starfan looked on, confused.

"Yeah, that's a long story," Marco shrugged.

"I'll tell it." Seraph jumped up, lifting Starfan into her arms.

"Whoa! You don't have to carry me."

"Don't worry about it." Seraph gave her the compact. "Just control the music and I'll tell you the story about the key."

The trio walked onto the path and to the next leg of the test.

"Oh! Play some Love Sentence." Marco requested. "Play 'Too Little Too late!'"

StarFan fiddled with the compact.

Seraph began. "So there was this valley…"

00000

"Scared? Why should that stop you?" Janna told Jackie. "Why aren't you angry?! She took Marco!"

"He could have left and come back." Jackie told her. "He told me himself, she took him, but he decided to stay."

"And that makes it better? She took Marco and he changed, he's keeping secrets now. He has all those stories and secrets with her about being on in a guild together, about adventures and all sorts of things. Marco didn't even say they slept together until it came out that he had a daughter! What else could they be keeping secret? Marco might still be lying, he's not writing anything in his dairy anymore or anything."

"It sounds to me," Hekapoo noticed something "that you're more upset that you don't know everything about Marco anymore and I do."

"You think you know everything about Marco?" Janna sounded angry. "I've known him since pre-school. I know every secret he thinks no one knows about, I know the thoughts he doesn't want to admit are his, you didn't even know the name he wanted to give his baby girl that he came up with when he was ten."

"Yuki!" Both Hekapoo and Janna spoke at once.

"He thought it seemed cute." Hekapoo explained.

"That's when he got all into manga and anime," Janna added "because his karate classes reminded him of those fighting animes. He's a secret weebo."

"I know, he had a sword made into a katana just because of that." Hekapoo chuckled. "I thought the name was cute too." Hekapoo looked down. "But it means snow and I thought it was just too ironic, especially if she developed fire powers." Hekapoo wiped away her tears. "We spent so much time talking about his life on Earth and I really got to know him over time."

"If you knew Marco so well why didn't you know about me?" Jackie questioned - she asked without realizing "You got with Marco when we were dating."

Hekapoo hissed. "…I did know about you." She bit her tongue. "The first year he mentioned you a lot, you and his family and Star … around year four or five he just stopped. Some time after that me and Marco had an actual date. I didn't remember your name, how was I supposed to remember someone I never met? It had been years since Marco last mentioned you… I never even thought about you."

Jackie stared at her, not sure how she was feeling about it.

Janna spoke up "Are you really okay with this?"

"I'm not over him." Jackie admitted. "I'm trying to be cool about all this, but it's hard. I'm trying to be okay for him and for Seraph. But suddenly this guy I'm dating moved on and has a daughter. I get how it happened, I understand he had a lot more time in comparison, but it's so sudden for me. I really liked Marco - he's sweet and there aren't a lot of guys I have met that actually want to get to know the real me… I wanted him to be happy so I broke it off, but it hurts. He was always there and I took that for granted, and when I finally started to get to know him, everything changed." Jackie took a deep breath. "And I can't help but blame you for that." Jackie pointed at Hekapoo. "I just want you to think of that."

"Is that just so you?" Janna spat out focusing on Hekapoo. "You never think about consequences. You can drag someone away, do whatever you want, and just drop them back here when-"

"Let's get to the real issue here." Hekapoo grew tired of taking this from "Janna Ordonia,"

Janna's eyes widened as she heard her say her full name.

"Marco talked about all of you. My memory might not be the best, but if I try, I can remember things. Marco told me about your relationship - how you kept stealing his stuff and going through his diary and all about the flirting. He described it as a way for you to get a reaction out of him. He thought you needlessly teasing and playing pranks on him was for fun. But that's not it - the real reason you do it is because you like him and you can't just come out and say it."

"Of course I like him!" Janna yelled out, blinking as she didn't realize what she said for a moment. "No, that's not what I meant! I like him! No! I like Marco Diaz! No! I've liked Marco Diaz for years! Since I saw that cute pudgy baby face of his! Oh god!"

Janna started to panic as she covered her mouth.

"I knew it!" Brittney said out loud.

"We all kind of had the feeling." Jackie was forced to say to the room.

"Really?" Star was actually surprised by the revelation.

Janna was getting upset, clearly not having been ready to admit something like that out loud.

Jackie tried to stop Janna before she said anything else while glaring at Hekapoo, "Just don't make this worse."

"Worse?" Hekapoo shot back, not liking being accused. "I didn't mean to do anything. She's the one that started to grill me. I didn't want any of you here!"

Hekapoo has had enough and she couldn't hold it back anymore. "I just wanted to take Seraph on a quest with Marco! You have no idea how hard it is for me! I live every day knowing that one day I'll outlive my daughter! That I can't spend every day with her! She's going to live most of her life without me around!" Tears started to flow out of her eyes. "One day my daughter is going to die and I'm still going to be around. I hate that fact, yet I have to accept it. As long as she can have a long, happy life I can accept that, but is it too much for me to ask to be a part of that life even just a little? I'm fine with Marco taking care of her - I know she will be happy, but I want to be a part of her life as well. I just want to be in her memories, want her to look back on her life and have good memories made with both her parents. Is that really so much to ask for? Then I found the map and this quest I thought I could give her that, give her a glimpse of how me and Marco were like when we went on adventures together. To make some of those memories. Then you all started inviting yourselves to our family outing! I didn't say anything because I didn't want to be rude to her friends… but I just wanted it to be the three of us…." Hekapoo sobbed. "It's just not fair." She was far more powerful than all of them, but her voice broke and she sounded weak. "… it's just not fair…when Marco left." A sob. "I was alone again, and then I had this little miracle, and then I couldn't keep her. Now I'm just clinging to the rare moments we get together before they all run out… it's just not fair…"

The girls around her couldn't find any words of comfort or simply to break the silence. Hekapoo's bangs fell forwards, covering her eyes. They still heard her quiet sobs and saw the tears drop onto the floor.

The door opened wide for them.

"How?" Brittney asked.

Star realized it first. "Freely given." Star could barely whisper it. "Every other thing we said was forced out… no one asked Hekapoo about _that_ truth - she just said it on her own."

Hekapoo wiped her tears away. "We never mention this."

No one made eye contact, they just silently agreed.

Slowly the group walked onto the path.

Jackie felt a hand on her shoulder stopping her.

Hekapoo couldn't look her in the eyes, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take Marco away from you. I just never thought about it, or those he left behind. I just focus on what is before me and what happening in the present. It never even occurred to me that we might hurt someone. I never wanted that."

Before Jackie could say anything else, Hekapoo walked ahead of her.

0000

Marco and the girls waited for the others to arrive at the end.

There were 3 tests and Marco just ended up using the key to unlock the doors and had shrunk it and placed it in his pocket.

They were just waiting for the others to catch up.

The other had two more tests - one was a riddle that Hekapoo had heard the answer to ages ago, and the last one was shifting panels puzzle. They solved them mostly silently, none really ready to talk about anything.

"Hey!" Seraph greeted them brightly.

Hekapoo didn't hesitate to run up to Seraph and hug her, showering her with kisses.

"Mom!" Seraph fussed at the affection.

"I missed you." Hekapoo whispered.

Marco got up. "We've been waiting for you. We found the treasure room and we decided we should open it up together."

"Let's just get this over with." Brittney spoke what many of them thought.

Marco shrugged and pushed the last door open. They were greeted with a large room filled with all sorts of treasures - gold coins, jewels, artifacts and anything they could imagine being worth anything.

Hekapoo sensed her items and quickly reached for a black velvet box sitting on a pile of gold.

"Uh, can we have this?" Janna asked.

"Help yourselves." Hekapoo told them, "I really only wanted this."

"Ah, cool." Jackie picked up a pearl necklace that caught her eyes.

Janna snatched Marco's leather jacket and hat right off him, using them to carry the treasures and the whip to tie it all together.

Brittney started to grab as many coins as she could and stuff them into her pockets.

Starfan laughed as she swam in the gold coins. "Weeee! I'm a cartoon duck!"

Seraph smiled, placing a tiara on Starfan.

Star asked Hekapoo. "So what's so special about that box?"

Pulling it open, Hekapoo revealed inside the box lay several rings, each paired with another. Each gold ring had a wavy design on them that filled in with what looked to be melted gems.

Hekapoo picked up the gold and ruby ring. "You see this?"

"Yeah?" Star asked, just noting Marco picking up the pair to inspect behind Hekapoo's back.

Marco slid the ring on his finger, realizing it changed size to fit him perfectly.

Hekapoo held out the ring before Star. "These took me years to make. I got the idea after I saw this weird gem species."

"Gems?"

"Well, they were odd - not real bodies, just sort of projections. Also, really mean and attacked this world that was filled with minerals I used for stuff. They dropped ships that drained all the planet's resources. They eventually ruined the whole thing - I spent most the day trying to get the animals off the planet before it collapsed. I did end up fighting some of their foot soldiers and they did this thing. I noticed that they had an ability to fuse and get stronger and that got me thinking."

"What?"

"Why not try that? I made these rings to allow that to happen with non-projection beings. All you need is two people to put on the matching rings, like this." Hekapoo slid the finger on herself.

"Huh?" Marco felt like someone grabbed his hand and moved it towards Hekapoo, who mirrored his actions.

"Take them off!" Hekapoo yelled, trying to frantically remove her own ring.

They were both pulled in together and they merged into a flash of light.

The others tumbled backwards, unsure of what was happening.

Seraph being the first to react as the light faded away, "Mom? Dad?"

Standing before them was a different figure, neither Hekapoo or Marco. It was new individual with traits of both.

"Mom? Dad? Moms?… Progenitor?" Seraph questioned, "I don't know how you self-identify in this case."

The new person looked at their hands confused. They were taller than anyone else in the room, with a shapely figure but long thin arms. They had two eyes - one brown, one gold - that blinked as they looked around. She had short choppy red hair with two lightning bolt-like horns sticking out of it, her skin light brown. She wore a yellow dress that seemed to be made out of a hoodie, a red belt wrapped around her waist as the rest of the hoodie below it turned into a red skirt with a ragged hem, cut up end making it look like dancing embers. She wore a pair of flat brown heeled boots.

"Are you okay?" Star looked at her. "Ah, are you both there? Who's talking?"

"Star?" The voice was new, soft yet strong and so very confused.

"Star!" Marco's voice rang out.

"Star." Hekapoo's voice spoke.

"They're like Marco and Hekapoo together." StarFan noted, "Marcapoo."

Marcapoo stared at her hands, looking at her body for the first time. Everything felt new and odd.

"What's going on?" Marcapoo's voice spoke as she looked around.

"Marco, Marco, Marco!" Hekapoo's voice came out worried. "You need to listen, you need to focus, we have to take off the ring together-"

"Hekapoo!" Marco spoke, "Fire! So much fire! Alone!"

"You are not alone!" Hekapoo tried to sound reassuring, "I'm here, I'm right here. Listen! We have to do this together!"

"Together!" Marcapoo spoke up and they yanked the rings off their hands.

In another flash of light the pair fell apart, collapsing onto the floor as the rings fell between them.

Both of them were gasping for breath.

"Ah! Marco!" Hekapoo got up." Marco?"

Marco got up and looked at her. He was crying, his eyes streaming tears in a way that seemed like he'd never stop.

"Marco? It's okay, it's gonna be okay." Hekapoo was trying to be reassuring, "This whole thing can be very intense. You get an overview of someone, everything that made them who they are, their best and worst days … you basically look at someone's whole soul. I've had a lot of days to see. If you're not ready for it-"

Hekapoo was silenced as Marco hugged her tightly.

Hekapoo hugged back. "Okay."

No one spoke about this - what was there to say?

0000

A few minutes later everyone had packed up as much as they could carry in one go.

Hekapoo found a platform that was built right into the brickwork of the room, the crystal at its top.

"Okay, so it powers the whole test thing and keeps my rifts from working. "

"Can I have it too?" Janna asked, looking at the strange glowing gem.

"Yeah, sure, we just have to take it off first."

"Got it." Janna just yanked it off the platform.

Hekapoo stared at her in horror. "After we shut it down!"

The room began to shake and the tunnels they had come from started to collapse. "It was keeping everything together! This whole place was set up to collapse once it wasn't needed anymore!"

Then they heard something, the sound of rushing water.

"Uh," Marco gulped, "Isn't there a river somewhere near here?"

They all saw water rushing towards them.

0000

A rift formed right on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower

A powerful stream of water shot out of it, flooding the tower - luckily, at this hour, no one was on it. Hekapoo closed the rift, struggling against the water, and as it vanished the water flowed away, leaving them there.

The group was soaking wet, bits of their treasure scattered around them, most lost to the flooded tunnels and some lost with the water that rushed around them.

"That was fun!" Seraph cheered, being the first one to get back to her feet, "…wow."

The demi-human paused as something caught her attention. "That's beautiful."

She looked around at the view of the city of Paris, and all the lights it had to offer shone at her all at once. The others got to their feet and after a moment were just as taken by the view.

Marco hadn't intended to open the rift here but as he thought about where they were going to, he thought of this tower and sent them there just as the water hit.

He placed an arm around his daughter and smiled.

Soon the air was filled with the sound of sirens. "We should run, I think we triggered some sort of alarm."

And yes, they had.

0000

They opened another portal to the Diaz household, tossing as much of the treasure that was left into it and running before the cops showed up. Marco insisted on leaving some as well, having caused them some trouble and probably damaged the tower.

Marco got everyone some towels as they got home along with their things.

Brittney was the first to leave when her limo showed up, her servants carrying out her share of the treasure. While she was leaving she spoke "Diaz, don't think it's over. You still owe me a shopping trip!"

"Sure." Marco waved.

Jackie smiled at Marco. "Well, that was … something." She chuckled, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

She filled her backpack with what she could carry and got on her board, skating away.

Janna could not carry everything she wanted. She grabbed a few tote bags from Marco's house and filled them, making sure the magical crystal was among her loot. She found she couldn't even drag all the treasure in the bag made from Marco's jacket.

"You can keep the rest!" Janna huffed, "Think of it as a tip."

Janna waddled away, carrying bags full of loot.

Marco worried about her back.

Starfan and Seraph exchanged numbers as they wanted to keep talking about bands later. She waved them goodbye as she carried a few handfuls of jewels.

Marco was left with a nice share which he was planning to save for the future.

"Here." Hekapoo handed Marco, Star and Seraph each a pair of rings. "Consider them a bonus."

"Your rings?" Star questioned them. She sensed a fair bit of magic in them.

"Maybe they'll be useful for you in the future. It's not like I don't have extra sets now." She stretched her arms. "I guess I better head home."

"Ah." Marco paused. "We were going to watch some movies. Do you want to stay?"

"Yeah, stay!" Star insisted. "I'm actually feeling really tired and Marco makes a lot of nachos to watch them with and without another person they'd go to waste. "

"You don't want to watch movies with us?" Seraph asked.

"No, but next time definitely. Just thinking of going to bed right now." Star smiled as she started to walk away.

She sighed - she took away a fun family trip for Hekapoo. The least she could do was give them a movie night.

"Okay, I guess it's just us for movie night." Marco stated. "I'll get started on the nachos."

"Sounds great." Hekapoo smiled.

"Oh, before I forget." Marco spoke up. "I had this idea."

"What?" Hekapoo questioned.

"I think we should take more trips together."

"Together?"

"I mean, for Seraph. We should show her the world, the whole multiverse. I mean, yeah, you two should both go on trips together, bond mother-daughter and I'll take her on trips by myself too, show her some of the cool stuff on Earth. Maybe take her back to Paris, show her the sights and museums and art. But maybe we should take her some-places together too, every once in a while."

Seraph looked at her parents, stars glimmering in her eyes.

"Well, I can't say that doesn't sound fun." Hekapoo agreed.

"Where can we go first?" Seraph asked eagerly.

"You start talking and I'll get some nachos going." Marco walked towards the kitchen.

Marco paused. When they fused, he got a glimpse at Hekapoo's soul and saw how lonely she was. It wasn't something new, it's gotten worse as of late but it wasn't new. She had been so alone for such long time that just a glimpse filled Marco with so much sorrow. If he could, he would try and balance it out. He'd try.

He wasn't sure what they were, but he was certain she was family. He wasn't willing to let her feel alone. He looked back, smiling as he saw Hekapoo talking to Seraph while continued to dry off her long hair.

0000

Star snuck down the stairs for her usual bowl of late night cereal. She spotted Seraph nuzzled between her parents, all three of them asleep on the couch as the movie kept playing. Marco had decided to show them the entire series of Indiana Jones movies and they kept playing after they fell asleep. Seraph was wearing the fedora - it was a little crumbled in between her horns, the leather jacket draped over her as a blanket.

Marco and Hekapoo held their daughter in their sleep.

Star couldn't help but think they looked happy. Star picked up their usual Friendship Thursday night blanket and pulled it over the trio.

She walked away silently. She, for all things, felt a little lucky. She hadn't blurted out her own feelings.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Yeah, I don't actually have much to say. A fun little quest that let us get more insight into out characters. I felt that was pretty solid. Short and sweet. Uh, next arc is simple titled Wedding so look forwards to that. Okay, leave a review telling me what you think.**


	15. Chapter 15: Love Bites

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any elements of Star Vs.**

 **Special Thanks to my beta APraeda.**

* * *

Chapter 15: Love Bites

Star and Marco were helping Seraph practice her aiming skills after school.

Marco and Star set up some targets and all Seraph had to do was hit them - it was pretty simple training.

Seraph let a ball of fire form in her hand and hurled it at the target. She missed and the ball flopped onto the ground, with Marco quickly getting the fire extinguisher to put it out.

Seraph whimpered "I missed again."

"Don't worry," Star consoled her, "aiming things is hard and you're trying to keep a ball of fire together at the same time."

"Yeah," Marco agreed. "You've come a long way already. I'm sure if you keep practicing, you'll get it sooner or later."

"Thanks dad." Seraph said softly, unsure if that was true.

"You want to keep trying?" Marco asked. "Or do you want to take a break?"

Before anyone could say another word a red portal formed before them and Hekapoo stepped out. Her hair was a mess, her dress had some tears and she looked ticked off.

"Hekapoo?"

"Mom?"

"Hey," Hekapoo spoke, "Marco, I need you."

"Need!" Star turned red.

"What? Me?" Marco pointed to himself.

"Yeah, I got these pair of hydras attacking the forge. They look like they've gone rabid or something and they want to make the Forge into their nest. Me and my clones have been fighting them and we can only slow them down. We got to cut off their heads but they keep coming." Hekapoo huffed, "I need your help. You cut off their heads and I'll fry the necks so they can't grow back."

Marco pulled out his scissors and quickly transformed them into his sword.

Star spoke up "I'll go too."

"Nope!" Hekapoo held a hand before her. "This is gonna be tricky and we have to move in sync. Me and Marco have some experience there. Besides, your magic isn't gonna be of much help. Hydra skin is resistant to magic. You might be able to knock back a normal hydra a bit, but these two are nuts and alphas, five time bigger than any you got on Mewni. You're more likely to get yourself hurt."

Marco told her "Just stay here, Star. We will be back in seconds."

"Yeah, can we hurry this up?" Hekapoo said impatiently. "I just lost another clone, I'm down to twenty fighting them. They keep snuffing my girls out."

"We'll be right back." Marco told them as he and Hekapoo stepped into the portal.

It quickly closed behind them.

Star started to nibble on her wand. She didn't like the idea of leaving them alone together in Hekapoo's dimension. Considering what went on the last time they were alone together…. Star tried to be reasonable. Time ran faster over there, it shouldn't take them too long. Any second now, any second now they should be back.

Any second.

WHY AREN'T THEY BACK YET?!

Star started to panic. What if something happened? Marco took the scissor, so she couldn't hop over to check.

"Who wants lemonade?" Angie walked over, carrying a tray of drinks.

Marco's dad was right besides her with some snacks. "You've been working hard, we thought you might want a treat."

Seraph started to cheer up at the prospect. Her grandparents placed the trays on a table.

"Where's Marco?" Rafael asked.

Suddenly a portal opened up and Hekapoo and Marco stepped out.

"That took longer than expected." Star couldn't help but let out.

"What happened?" Angie questioned.

"Sorry about that," Hekapoo smirked, "I had a bit of a pest problem back home and had to borrow Marco."

"Took us a little longer than we thought." Marco smiled, scratching the back of his head. "It was a tough fight - it went on for a few days actually and then we got carried away rebuilding and stuff for a few months."

Both his parents raised an eyebrow at that comment.

Hekapoo continued, "After that we rested and healed up a bit. Luckily I still had some healing potions. I mean, we didn't get hurt seriously, but it's always nice to have them around. Plus afterwards Marco helped me patch up the damage to the Forge."

"And we needed time to make you these." Marco held out a pair of cloaks he had brought with him and quickly gave them to his parents.

They gladly took them.

"Oh, stylish! Is this leather?" Rafael studied the material. It was an odd pattern and color, but felt like leather.

"Hydra skin." Hekapoo quickly told them. "I tell you, it's hard to work with. Most of it went to waste. They are light but strong, can really cushion a blow and are magic-resistant. Though if you're gonna take a magic blast, remember that it's only gonna protect what you got covered. It might weaken wider-range magic."

"Thank you for the lovely gift." Angie said to the fiery girl. "They're very nice."

Hekapoo kicked at the ground shyly. "Actually… It's not so much as a gift as it is a dowery."

"Dowery?" Rafael asked.

Marco took Hekapoo's hand. "We had some time in the other dimension. Days really, lot of time just to talk. So we did and started to figure something together and well…."

"We decided to get married." Hekapoo finished.

"Yeah, " Marco beamed them a smile, "we just decided to stop playing around and face the situation and realized that what we really wanted was to be together."

Marco's parents stared in shock, Star actually dropped her wand and Seraph let out a loud ear-shattering squeal before jumping on her parents for a hug.

"Oh my god!" She gave them a great big hug. "Congratulations!"

0000

Moments later the group found themselves in the living room. Marco's parents looked at the pair curiously. This all seemed like some sort of strange dream, though in fairness much of their life had seemed like a dream as of late.

It didn't help that Hekapoo had decided to sit on Marco's lap as they cuddled together.

"So, I just looked in her eyes and I knew I wanted to look into her eyes every day. That I wanted to wake up seeing her the first thing everyday and to go to sleep knowing she was the last I saw." Marco explained the situation to them.

"He got on his knees and asked me to marry him." Hekapoo smiled, scooting closer to Marco. "I said yes, and here we are."

Star's eyes twitched. This couldn't be real. Why were they saying that? It didn't matter anyway, Marco's parents wouldn't allow it to happen. Marco was too young and still in school.

"Oh my god," Angie let out, "That sounds so nice!"

"Congratulations you two." Rafael smiled broadly.

"It means so much that you are so supportive." Hekapoo looked at the couple, happy for their encouragement.

"Think nothing of it." Angie put her hand on her shoulder, "you're family now - we will always be there for you." She paused for a moment then. "You can call me mom."

"Thanks…. mom." Hekapoo smiled a little sheepishly at saying that. Never in all her time had she ever had the chance to call someone that.

"When are you planning on getting married?" Rafael asked them.

"As soon as possible!" Marco didn't hesitate to answer. "We want to get married this weekend."

"What?!" Star spat out.

"It might be hard to find a good location at such short notice." Angie pondered it. "Wait, let's have it in our backyard!"

"That's great!" Marco answered. "What do you think, H-Poo?"

"That sounds great…" Hekapoo thought for a moment. "Mar-cutie." She blinked at the name. "That wasn't great."

"You tried, Heka-cutie, my Heka-beauty."

"Oh, stop that or you will make me blush."

"Well, if I wanted to do that, I'd do this." Marco kissed her cheek and then started to plant a trail of kisses down to her neck.

Hekapoo started to blush and let out small whimpers at his kisses. "Marco~"

Three blasts broke the silence as Star fired three green blasts of magic right into the ceiling. "Wait! Stop!" Star yelled lowering her wand. "You- you just can't do that!"

"She's right." Marco agreed. "We don't have time, we have a lot to do before the wedding day. Let's start with the guest list."

"To the kitchen! I'll get my address book and a notepad. We have to start by deciding who we are inviting." Angie practically giggled. "We have to make a seating plan."

With that thought in mind the group left to the kitchen to get started, leaving a stunned Star behind.

She just stared, dumbfounded. "Whaaaaat?"

0000

A bit later Marco was in Star's room using her mirror. "Mirror, mirror, call Pony Head."

A short moment later, "Hey guuurl!" Pony head pouted, realizing Star wasn't the one to call her. "Ugh, what do you want Earth Turd." She was barely paying attention as she continued reading a magazine. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to tell you I'm getting married."

"Wait, what?" Pony head looked up, "Who are you getting married to?"

"Hekapoo."

"….Uh, congrats?" Pony Head thought about it. She was unsure how to feel about this.

"We wanted to ask for your help in arranging the wedding."

"I'm no wedding planner." Pony Head scoffed.

A portal opened up behind her and a pale hand grabbed her, pulling her in.

Grabbed by the horn, Pony Head found herself transported into Star's room by Hekapoo.

"Hello." She told the young princess. "So, Marco told me that you were the one who stole my scissors."

"I foun-" Pony head didn't even finish the line as Hekapoo stared daggers at her.

"Stealing a pair of dimensional scissors is a major offense." Hekapoo explained it to her. "Even for a princess that is a serious offense and it falls to me to punish you."

Pony Head gulped, "But-"

"Yeah, even your folks wouldn't be able to stop me. So, I'll make you an offer. You throw our wedding for this weekend or I'll toss you into the Nightmare Realm."

"This weekend?! I can't do that! I can arrange a party but not that fast!"

"Nightmare Realm it is then."

"No!" PH yelled. "I mean, it's that to arrange so fast, everything would cost a serious amount of coin."

Pulling out her scissors once more Hekapoo created a portal and a large pile of gold and jewels spilled onto the floor.

"Is that enough?" Hekapoo asked her.

"Ah, I can probably work with that."

"You'd better make this good, Pony Head." Marco told her. "It's our magical day, and if not…"

"It's gonna be your nightmare." Hekapoo finished.

Pony Head looked at the pair and the look in her eyes sent chills down to her very soul. She knew Hekapoo could be crazy, but didn't think Marco could match her.

Pony Head couldn't help but think they might actually make a good couple.

0000

Queen Moon Butterfly opened the doors to the Magical High Commission meeting room. She was a bit troubled by all this. There was no meeting planned and suddenly Hekapoo called everyone to meet at once. Has she discovered something about the Fritz?

Or, as Moon feared, has she discovered Glossaryck had been taken?

She needed a calm mind, so she took a breath and tried to be level-headed.

As she stepped into the room she found Lekmet fiddling with the crystal orb that allowed them to speak to Omnitraxus.

"Hello." Moon greeted. "Where is Hekapoo?"

Hekapoo was usually fairly early because of her abilities and as she was the one to call the meeting, it seemed strange for her not to be there already.

"Don't know." Rhombulus answered her.

Rhombulus was looking over a book of 'wanted' posters - when he got bored, he'd sometimes look over old wanted posters. He claimed it was so he wouldn't forget to keep an eye out for evil-doers that haven't popped up in a while. He looked over a poster of a young-looking woman with long, white hair who was a cruel galaxy conqueror. He flipped the book of posters. "Hey, did we ever find out what happened to Orgalorg?" Rhombulus looked over a poster of some sort of a vampire squid.

Moon shook her head and shivered at the thought - a cruel monster that was worshiped as a god on some worlds. Her mother spent a number of years trying to locate him.

She had always been eager to prevent tragedy if she could.

Moon herself looked into it from time to time, but the dimension they had last tracked him to was a wild one. She recalled there was some sort of an undead skeletal abomination, a lich that they had been looking for, had caused a fair bit of trouble. The Lich's sole desire was to cause mass death and to do so, it proceeded to kill a wish master, the guardians of the citadel, and released several dangerous cosmic prisoners before vanishing. It was difficult to keep tabs on that dimension since their usual contact in there, Glob, died protecting his world from a comet.

It just went to remind Moon that they had a lot more work to do, especially with the fritz just making things far more difficult. For the moment, it seemed that dimension had a young champion protecting it and that would have to do until they could find out how to help. In the meantime Rhombulus had at least captured most of the escaped prisoners.

Moon sat down and waited. "Does anyone know what this meeting is about?"

Lekmet just shook his head, finally fixing the crystal.

"Sorry I'm late!" Hekapoo entered with a bit of a rush. "I had to stop by the printers, quadruple rush isn't cheap."

"Hekapoo, what is this all about?" Moon asked her.

Hekapoo took a deep breath and smiled. "I called you all here today to make an important announcement. I'm getting married."

The room went silent. The silence was quickly followed by Lekmet, Rhombulus and Omnitraxus squealing in excitement.

Moon stared. "Ah, excuse me, did you say you were getting married?"

"Yes, I did." Hekapoo tossed them all invites and opened a portal to Omnitraxus to send him his one as well. Already in the crystal ball they could see him getting it.

Omni looked over the invitation. "Wait, that's the same guy, right? The father of your daughter?"

"Yup, we talked things over and we just realized we wanted to be together." Hekapoo explained, a slight blush manifesting on her cheeks.

"Wait, you have a daughter?" Moon was shocked. How could she miss something like that?

"Yeah, for a couple of months now-" Hekapoo told her, "...yeah, might have forgotten to tell you. You know, been busy being a mom and all. You know what that's like."

Moon didn't know to react. She knew well that Hekapoo was much older than her, but she looked so young that at times Moon had a hard time not thinking of her like that. Not only did she have a daughter, but now was marrying the child's father. It was a lot to take in all at once.

"Uh, wait, are you inviting Glossaryck?" Rhombulus asked, worried.

Moon started to panic. Their secret could be exposed right there.

"Nah," Hekapoo waved them off, "he's not much for weddings, and if he wanted to come you know there is nothing I could do to stop him either way. I just won't bother and hope he doesn't decide to crash and ruin everything."

Moon sighed in relief, as did Rhombulus.

"I do have something to ask from you guys." Hekapoo turned to them. "Omni, I want to ask you to walk me down the aisle and give me away."

The giant whimpered, "I would be honored."

"Thank you." Hekapoo turned to the goat demon. "Lekmet, I wanna ask if you'd perform the ceremony."

"Baa baaa bawha, baa bah bah baawh."

Rhombulus translated, "He said he'd love to." Then an idea struck him, "Do you have rings yet?"

"No, we don't." Hekapoo admitted.

"Leave it to me, I'll make you guy's wedding rings."

"Thank you, you just became one of my maids of honor." Hekapoo gave the diamond head a hug. Rhombulus hugged her back, delighted.

"You'll have to excuse me, the wedding is this weekend and if I want everyone to get their invitations in time, I gotta hand-deliver all of them."

Hekapoo pulled out her scissors and opened another portal.

Moon stopped her. "Hekapoo, this all seems very quick to me, but you do seem happy."

"I am happy." Hekapoo admitted to the delight of the other members. She scratched the back of her head with a smile. It was a rare sight to see Hekapoo being so openly happy like this.

"Then I shall be there, congratulations." Moon smiled warmly at her.

"Thanks." Hekapoo stepped into the portal and vanished.

"Oh we have to got get some tuxes." Rhombulus picked up Lekmet and rushed out the door.

"Baa baa baw."

"Fine, but wear your fancy robes and a tie."

"I gotta find a present." Omni vanished as the screen went blank.

Moon had a small smile on her face. She looked so young that it still stunned Moon a little to think of Hekapoo getting married. She couldn't help but associate her with Star and wondered about Star's own marriage. Moon had the idea that a certain Earthling might have caught her daughter's attention and heart. She wouldn't press the issue - Star would have to come to that conclusion on her own, in time. Moon did still wish Hekapoo all the happiness the world had for her. Though she and her husband did have their problems, she did truly love River and knew without a doubt that he loved her too. Moon wasn't much for displays of emotion but she did think love was a sacred thing, something beautiful that helped bring about her daughter, and something indescribably wonderful. To have such a companion for the rest of your days was something truly magical.

Moon looked at the invitation for a moment. No names were written, just that she was invited to the wedding of H + MUD, all written inside a heart.

"Who's Mud?"

0000

The following school day started off just like any other. The class got settled in, waiting for the day to start.

Brittney Wong got up in front of the class holding out some invitations. "Listen losers! I'm throwing a party this weekend. Those of you lucky enough to be invited-"

"Ah!" Seraph ran into classroom and, unable to stop in time, slammed into Brittney, knocking her right into Sabrina.

"Guys! We have huge news!" Seraph didn't even realize she just knocked down two cheerleaders.

A moment later Marco walked in, followed by Star who looked lost and confused.

"Dad, can I say it?" Seraph jumped on her toes.

Marco smiled and gave her a nod.

"My mom and dad are getting married!"

The class stared for a moment before turning to Marco who gave them a nod to confirm.

They broke out into cheers and applause then, everyone congratulating him. Even Skullnick was starting to tear up with joy.

Marco started to pull out the invitations and hand them out.

"Alfonzo, Ferguson, you two are up for being my groomsmen?"

Alfonzo replied "We would be honored."

"I need to a rent a tux." Ferguson looked at his friend with nothing but joy.

"It's this weekend, so I hope you can all make it." Marco rubbed the back of his head. "I know it's a bit of late notice but we wanted to get married as soon as possible."

The class smiled warmly, all of them happy for him.

The intercom went off and Skeeves was heard sniffling, "Attention, everyone! Our very own Marco Diaz is getting married this weekend. So in honor of that I'm cancelling classes! Everyone run home, buy wedding presents, get your best clothes ready! Enjoy life! Find the love of your lives and embrace every moment you have together! Whooo!"

"Maybe I shouldn't have given his invitation before everyone else's." Marco judged his reaction.

Soon the halls were filled with students rushing out and it looked like a riot about to start. Already the Janitor was starting a fire.

"Dad! Split the invitations with me. We will get them out to everyone!" Seraph told her father.

He gave her half the invites as they went out to get to everyone. "Here you go, also see if you can stop that fire."

The rest of the class quickly emptied out to get ready for the wedding, Sabrina being the last one to limp out.

Star was still dumbfounded. She looked around to see Jackie in utter shock, Janna looking confused and Brittney just getting up looking furious.

"Star?" Jackie spoke in a whisper, "What's going on?"

"Marco is getting married to Hekapoo." Star said with a hollow voice.

"You gotta be kidding me." Janna let out. "Marco! Marco Diaz! The guy who could barely talk to Jackie for years? He just decided to get hitched to his baby mama?" Janna paused to think just about the fact that he had a baby mama.

"Barfo Diaz!? He's the first one to get married?!" Brittney yelled. "First he's got to get all this attention because he got a girl knocked up. Then he's got to go steal my thunder for the party this weekend. Now I gotta get him a gift for it!"

Star then realized something, "Wait, you three don't think this is super great like everyone else?"

"No, this is crazy." Brittney told her.

"It's odd." Janna admitted. "If he wanted to make flame head into an honest woman I think he'd have to do that before she gives birth."

"…And this is all happening so fast. And he's so young." Jackie said softly.

Star broke into a smile. "Thank you! I thought I was going insane or something. Everyone has just been so happy and supportive about all this. I just can't-"

"What is going on?" Jackie questioned, "I mean, maybe I don't know Marco as good as I could have but I've known him for years. He's been very cautious and he's been fussing about taking care of Seraph and everything, but just jumping into marriage like this seems crazy."

"I know!" Star yelled out. "This- this- this…." A thought dawned on her. "Magic! Hekapoo took him to her dimension alone and then they came back all lovey dovey and ready to get married."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Jackie asked the wand-wielding girl.

"Hekapoo used a magic spell on Marco, something to make him agree to marry her. Some sort of love potion or something."

"So you're saying we got to stop this wedding?" Janna smiled wickedly.

Jackie was hesitant, but it didn't seem like Marco to do something like this. "I guess if it's going to help him."

The trio turned to Brittney. "What? I'm not gonna help with this. It's a dumb idea for them to get married but I'm not helping you. Good luck and everything but I'm not doing anything. If you are gonna stop it, try and do it soon so I don't have to go out and get them a present."

Brittney started to walk away.

"Wait," Janna stopped her, "Your gonna get them a present still even knowing this is all a spell."

Brittney scoffed, 'Well, yeah. I'm not gonna be tacky and not get a gift. There are things you don't do. But good luck derailing your friend's wedding."

The three girls ignored Brittney and looked at each other.

Jackie asked, "So what do we do? Like, we have to prove Hekapoo did something, right?"

"Yeah, not sure how to do that." Star admitted. "I don't have my book of spells anymore, so…"

"I might be able to help." Janna smirked.

They went to Marco's locker and after opening it up and pulling out the false back Janna pulled out some books on witchcraft. Finding the right page she asked, "How's this?"

"A witch-y spell." Star looked it over. "A potion to test if someone has been bewitched. It looks like it could work."

With that done they headed to the store to purchase the ingredients they needed, which wasn't much as it seemed that Janna already had most of what was needed.

They grabbed everything and headed towards the Diaz household.

When they arrived they found that Marco and Seraph had already arrived and Hekapoo met them there.

They found Marco in his nice suit and Seraph wearing a nice dress, both posing next to Hekapoo. Along with Nachos they seemed to be having a family portrait made. Seraph sat on a stool in front of her parents with the family dragon at her side.

"Hey!" Seraph greeted them.

"What's going on?" Star asked, holding bags of stuff.

"We're making a portrait for them." Angie said behind an easel.

Rafael was painting it himself. "We decided to give them a portrait as the wedding present."

They just couldn't pick who would make it so they both decided to make one.

"Ah, why isn't he wearing a shirt?" Jackie pointed to the shirtless Rafael.

"The muse has taken him!" Angie announced as her husband wildly painted.

"Okay, we'll be in the kitchen making … stuff, so continue." Star quickly hurried the other girls.

They got a large pot and started putting the things together, following the instructions the book laid out. After half an hour Star used her wand to stir the mix.

"Okay, I think that's about it." Star continued to stir.

Jackie looked over the book. "Okay, to test if someone has been touched by magic we need a sample from them. Like a bit of hair or spit or something."

"I got it! Give me a minute." Janna walked off.

Jackie and Star poured out a few cups of the silver-like liquid. Star picked up one of the Laser puppies that was running around and plucked a hair from it. She dropped the hair in the liquid.

"So if the book is right anything that magic has affected recently should cause the liquid to turn blue. I used a sleeping spell on the puppies yesterday when they got all excited after seeing a squirrel. So…" Star looked on as the liquid turned blue.

Jackie plucked a hair from her head and dropped it in the liquid. "Nothing, I haven't been zapped or anything."

"Yo!" Janna came back with some hair. "The brown hair is Marco's, the red hair is Hekapoo's, and the auburn is Seraph's."

"How did you get that?" Jackie questioned. "I snipped a little, told them some hair was out of place and they should trim it while taking the portrait. No one seemed to question it."

Star wasted no time in dipping Marco's hair in the potion.

All three girls leaned in, watching it as it changed color.

"YES!" Star cheered, "Hekapoo charmed Marco!"

Jackie thought up something. "Isn't Hekapoo acting weird too?"

"She's just going along with it." Star waved off her concerns.

Janna grabbed some of Hekapoo's hair and dropped it into one of the cups. It too changed.

"Uh, why would Hekapoo charm herself?"

Star didn't know how to explain that. If Hekapoo messed with her mind, she wouldn't be aware of it anymore than Marco. She wouldn't be able to enjoy it.

"So, someone charmed both of them?" Janna guessed.

"But why?" Jackie tossed out.

"Yeah, and Hekapoo said they were at her forge fighting a hydra. They even brought the pelt back as cloaks for Marco's parents."

"So no one could have snuck up on them?" Janna offered a question.

"No, most people don't run to hydras." Star told them, "And I've been to the Forge, there aren't that many people near there or places to hide."

"So did we just mess up the potion?" Jackie offered.

"Maybe, I don't make them that often. I had Glossaryck do them." Star blinked, "And Hekapoo said they used some healing potions before they got back. So either way this would say they've been exposed to magic."

"This doesn't tell us anything." Jackie looked at the potion.

"Maybe they grabbed a love potion instead of a healing one." Janna suggested. "No, you'd need a sample too. You'd have to make it fresh so you can't just mix them up."

Star looked at Janna wondering how she knew so much about love potions.

They decided to walk to Star's room. Her mom gave her a bunch books about magic so maybe there they could find something.

As they walked into the living room, they found Hekapoo making a portal as she and Seraph were getting ready to leave.

Hekapoo gave Marco a quick kiss and told him, "Okay, I'll see you later. Don't forget to tell Star."

"Bye dad!" Seraph told Marco and she and her mom stepped into the portal.

"Ah, ask me what?" Star questioned, "Where are they off to anyway?"

Marco smiled. "They're off to get Seraph a dress for the wedding." Marco sighed, "And as for what I wanted to ask…" Marco walked up to Star and took her hand, "Will you be my best man?"

"Uh, what?"

"Well, best person. You're my best friend, Star. There is no one else I want up there standing next to me as I get married."

Star's face froze in an awkward smile as her right eye twitched wildly. "I'd -ack- love to."

Marco hugged her immediately. "Thanks! There is some stuff I need you to do. I have a list." Marco patted his pockets, "It's in my room, I'll go get it for you. Sorry, I should have had this ready for you. I've just been busy with planning the wedding and the move."

"Move?" Jackie picked up on the word.

"Yeah, after me and Hekapoo get married and come back from the honeymoon, we plan to move together to another dimension."

"What!?" Janna shouted.

"Yeah, we're thinking of moving to the Battle Nexus Dimension. Wukong offered me a job last time so at the very least he can help me get set up, and with all the treasure I've collected lately we should be able to get a place there. Hekapoo is going to commute to her dimension." Marco looked excited, "We're going to start a life there together and give Seraph a new home."

"You're leaving?" Janna stared at him, unsure what to make of it.

"Yeah!" Marco smiled.

"What about school?" Jackie asked him in a state of near-panic.

"We'll find some place for Seraph to study but for me, I just won't need it in another dimension. Besides, I'm also thinking of maybe opening up a karate dojo, with the title I won it should be easy for me to get people interested. Like I said, Wukong was really happy that I helped him with the coup so he said if I ever needed anything I could ask. We even invited him to the wedding and he said he'd do anything to help."

"But-" Star began, "but- but what about your mom and dad? What about your friends? What about me? What about all of us?" Star was feeling a great sense of deja vu.

"I'll have H-poo and Seraph, and I'm sure everything will be alright after that. Mom and dad are happy about all this. And…" Marco's smile faded just a bit, "I'll try to visit as often as I can, but I'm not sure how often I'll be able to. It'll probably be a while before I can visit at first."

Marco kept talking before walking off to his room to get the list. He kept talking, but none of the words reached Star.

The girls stared blankly.

"Marco's leaving," Jackie said solemnly.

"He's going…" Janna stared blankly.

"We have to stop this wedding." Star said determined.

Omake: Time Alone

With one quick slash Marco cut off the Hydra's head, Hekapoo jumping forward with her hands aflame as a new head began to re-grow. The flames consumed the stub, boiling the flesh and searing it black.

The pair stood back-to-back, never letting their guard down. The severed heads of the hydras were scattered around them along with the scorched necks.

"It's over." Hekapoo sighed. All her clones had been snuffed out, but they managed it.

Marco collapsed to the ground, sword still in his hand. Hekapoo looked at him - he'd gotten bruises and cuts and few other wounds, the battle seemingly having taken a lot out of him.

She couldn't blame him though, they had been fighting for days straight. Hydras were fierce creature, but these ones had gone nuts. Regaining his older body helped but he was still just human.

They had tried to shoo the beasts away but they refused and attacked still.

Hekapoo was unwilling to give up the forge. This was her home, this is where she lived and where she had raised her daughter. She was not going to give it up.

In the end they had to chop every single head off to make sure they didn't come back.

Hekapoo herself was tired but in better shape because of her nature. She leaned down and helped carry Marco into the forge, or what was left of it.

Hekapoo settled him on the couch as she went to check one of the shelves, pulling out a pair of bottles - each filled with red liquid. She popped them both open before she gulped down one and poured the other's content down Marco's throat.

Slowly they both started to feel better as their wounds began to heal.

"Thank you." Marco said, exhausted. "I've never been so tired."

"Okay, let's get you to bed to sleep." Hekapoo helped him.

Hekapoo had a few guest rooms - sometimes the commission would come over to take a break from their duties, or for Rhombulus when Lekmet kicked him out after doing something stupid.

As Hekapoo took him to the end of the hall, they found a huge gaping hole. The guest rooms had been smashed by one of the hydras' attacks that tore the stone walls.

"Ugh, well, we still have Seraph's old room and mine." Hekapoo stated.

"I don't think I should use Seraph's room, it should be hers and hers alone…. and I mean, it's not like we haven't shared a bed before." Marco looked away.

"I mean, you can take it." Hekapoo quickly told him. "I don't need as much asleep as you do. I can just take a nap on the couch."

"It's not that restful to sleep on the couch, and this is your house. I'll take the couch."

"You need the rest, you looked ready to drop dead after the healing potion!"

0000

They ended up sharing the bed, yet didn't get sleep easily. They had both turned away from each other, finding it awkward to share a bed after everything that had happened. They didn't know how to react now and nothing they did seemed right.

Sleep eventually came for both of them.

Hekapoo was the first to wake. They fell asleep a fair distance away, but in their sleep they found their way back to each other. Hekapoo found herself with her head on his shoulder and Marco's arm around her.

Marco snored gently and Hekapoo couldn't help but marvel how warm he felt and how nice his embrace was gentle, yet strong. That seemed to fit Marco so well - he was so gentle but so strong at the same time.

She closed her eyes and let herself sleep for a bit longer.

0000

After they woke up in an awkward position they decided to get something to eat.

They dug a pit and ripped off some of the flesh from the hydras.

"You can cook hydra meat?" Marco asked.

Hekapoo was looking over a cookbook. "Yeah, I learned to cook for Seraph. I even tried new dishes. I think I can cook the meat, it's all about getting the right parts, some of this might be poisoned."

Marco raised an eyebrow as he set up a foldable table and set the dishes.

Lucky for both of them, Hekapoo cooked out the poison and the meat was tasty.

As they rested they talked about many things, but soon found themselves directing the conversation to Seraph.

They overlooked a small lake. "So you actually added a lake here for Seraph?"

"Yeah, this place is a bit plain. I wanted it here to be a bit more lively for Seraph, so she had places to play in. I added some grass, a playground and a sandbox, and of course the lake. I did teach her to swim so she'd be safe playing in the water."

"I saw the pictures, she was wearing that cute little one piece and those floaties while splashing the water."

"You got the pictures?"

"Yes, thank you so much." Marco smiled, looking at the ruined forge. This had been the place of so many memories for Seraph.

"I want to help you rebuild this place." Marco said reassuringly.

"What? Marco, you can go home. I built this place, me and my clones can handle it."

"I know. It's just that this is Seraph's home, she grew up here, this is where she learned to swim, to walk, this is where she learned to say her first words. I hate the idea of leaving it like this, so please let me help with at least restoring it to how she remembers it."

Hekapoo gave him a sad smile. "Thats a nice thought but it's not like she will ever see this place again."

"I'm not sure about that." Marco told her with a hopeful tone entering his voice, "I'm not sure if it will help but … remember when we went to see that statue of me put up in the Hall of Champions?"

"Yeah, nice ceremony. Your parents kept hugging you, the party needed more of those little hot dog wieners."

"Yeah, I talked to Lord Wukong and asked him for something. I asked if he could look into helping Seraph's condition. He'd say he'd get his mages to study upon it - didn't promise anything, but he'd try and he said I was free to ask him for anything… so there is some hope."

Hekapoo smiled. She'd already asked some of the most powerful beings in the whole universe and they couldn't do anything - even Glossaryck couldn't do anything without fundamentally changing her, which was why she never bothered to ask. It would be wrong to change Seraph so much.

Still she smiled - Marco was so determined to do everything he could for their daughter.

He scratched the back of his head. "I just want to help Seraph come back here. It was her home, it's still her house and even in some ways this place is my home too. It just seems so wrong that Seraph can't come back. So, I'm going to try and find her a way back and when she does return, I want it to be just like how she remembers it."

Hekapoo sighed, "I suppose no one will miss you, even a few months here will be seconds there."

0000

It felt strange for things to be so awkward with Hekapoo when they shared the bed. Even before they did anything serious together they had often fallen asleep together in the past.

Even after they had gotten closer Marco still enjoyed just sleeping in the same bed with her. There was an expected intimacy to that, something even he didn't like to admit that he had longed for. It felt wrong to be so close and yet so far.

Maybe that was why they woke up holding each other. Maybe she felt something similar.

Marco almost felt like he was taken back to the past, to the time of his trial, when things were simpler. Part of him wanted to stay there forever, but he pushed the thought aside - he wouldn't go back. His daughter was waiting for him and he had to repair her home.

For the moment Marco smiled as Hekapoo nuzzled herself towards him and he closed his eyes, soon going back to sleep. He told himself he needed his rest as the next day there would be lots of work.

0000

It had been weeks by now. The hydras were big beasts and did a lot of damage and their bodies were not making it any easier to clean. The poison in their blood had started to soak into the dirt and the lake - if they wanted to save anything, they would have to replace those.

Hekapoo, who wouldn't get sick or die from the poison, took care of that and disposing the remains, making sure to remove the skin. Hydra pelt was hard to work with but it could be used to make some great things. Hekapoo decided to take a crack at making something with it, but didn't know what.

Marco took up repairing the walls of the forge, replacing every stone that the monsters had destroyed.

It was hard work - every day he'd find new blister forming and his muscles aching from lifting the heavy stones into place.

Never, not once did he complain though. He had a purpose and he wasn't going to stop until this was done.

0000

It wasn't too bad, even with all the work. He was getting a chance to talk with Hekapoo and just spend some time with her. They even stopped one day to swim in the now clean lake.

Marco found a pair of red trunks that fit him and Hekapoo was wearing a rather typical yellow one-piece mom swimsuit.

Marco felt conflicted about this, but he wasn't sure if he should say that out loud.

Indeed it was the right choice.

Marco swam a little as Hekapoo sat in an inflatable inner tube. She wore a pair of dark sunglasses and she was skimming through a magazine.

Marco did a few laps, enjoying the cold water's touch on his tired muscles.

"This is nice." Marco told her.

"Yeah, just a nice little break from everything." Hekapoo smiled, never removing her eyes from her read.

Marco smirked as a thought came to him. He dove under the water and before Hekapoo realized it she was pulled into the water.

After a moment she popped out of the water with a gasp, "Marco! What the hell?!"

Marco was just laughing, "Come on, H-Poo. Get a little wet!"

"Wet? Let me show you wet!" Hekapoo smirked as she started to splash him back.

Soon the lake was filled with their laughter as they continued to fool around.

He had fun, but he couldn't help but think it would have been nicer if Seraph had been there too.

0000

They were just about done repairing everything - at this point they were mostly fixing up everything inside. They had just finished taking all the hydra-hide into one of her repaired rooms.

Now they were fixing up Hekapoo's vault, the room she kept her magical artifacts in. Some of those items were dangerous and others weren't but Hekapoo wasn't in the habit of leaving them laying around her house, doubly so after Seraph was born.

Marco helped her put a glowing crystal eye on a shelf, making sure it didn't get too close to the golden spider statue.

As they finished up Hekapoo washed her hands, not realizing Marco was staring at a small ring on one of the shelves. It was a small band with a gem, the stone shifting colours.

As they started to walk out, Hekapoo locked the door behind them. "So, it's about time for lunch. What are you in the mood for? I'm kinda feeling like having a drap wrap."

Marco stopped, "Hekapoo…"

"Is something the matter?" Hekapoo looked back to find Marco nervously scratching the back of his neck.

Marco got down on his knees and took her hand in his, "Hekapoo…"

"Marco…. what are you doing?"

"Hekapoo, I love you. I want to spend everyday with you. The idea of us just going our own ways after this hurts me. I want us to be together, to make a life together, to make home for us and Seraph. Hekapoo, will you marry me?"

Hekapoo stared at the mortal before her, her eyes filling with tears as her free hand went to her mouth.

Her hand trembled as her mind went blank. Was this really happening?

Before she knew it her mouth began to move, "Yes, yes! I'll marry you Marco!"

Marco's face lit up and he jumped up, his heart beating faster than ever before as he wrapped his arms around Hekapoo and kissed her deeply. She eagerly returned the sentiment.

They held each other for a moment, just enjoying themselves, and then pulled away, both smiling.

"I love you Hekapoo."

"I love you Marco."

0000

Hekapoo fiddled with the cloaks, "Do you think they'll like them?"

"Yes," Marco told her, "You know you don't have to get them anything. You don't actually have to give them a dowry."

Marco had told her a number of times that she didn't have turn the hydra-hide into cloaks or get them anything - dowries weren't a thing they did.

"I know, it's just… well, I'm taking their son so I felt that I had to give them something."

"You're giving them a wonderful daughter in law." Marco leaned over and gave her a kiss.

Hekapoo blushed a little as he took the cloaks from her. Hekapoo opened a portal back to his backyard and they looked at each other once again before stepping through.

0000

They were at the kitchen table with the other Diazes as Angie searched through her address book, looking at who they would invite with Marco's dad taking notes and making a comprehensive list.

Marco was overjoyed to find his parents so accepting of the situation. His hand moved over to Hekapoo's and soon they intertwined. It was going to be hectic but after then they'd be married. Neither Marco nor Hekapoo could wait.

* * *

 ** _Third time's the charm or so they say, so I decided to finally introduce myself properly - APraeda here! So, umm, not sure what I should say about myself now - am pretty much a full-time uni student with a certain fondness for cartoons (anything to escape the crushing reality of life, haha!). I got into SvTFoE pretty much by binge-watching the entire thing over the course of a week or two after yt suggested I watch none other but the Marcapoo clips from the latest eps, so I was pretty much committed to the ship from the get-go. And that's how I landed here! Hopefully you will enjoy our combined effort in the future chapters._**

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Okay, so everyone please be nice to my new beta. So we start the wedding arc. I don't have much to say here, I'm currently working on the next chapter, I had to start the chapter over again since I didn't like the pace. So I might take a bit longer. Also, this one took a bit longer since both me and my beta got sick during the time since the last update. I actually got sick twice.**

 **Also look up on deviantart (marcoxhekapoo) fusion svtfoe its some fan art of my marcapoo fusion from the last chapter and looks awesome. Check it out and leave the artist some feedback.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review and tell me what you think. What you think is going to happen and what you hope to see along with what you like. Until next time I'm off.**


	16. Chapter 16: Something Borrowed

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs the Forces of Evil**

 **Special Thanks to my beta APraeda.**

* * *

Chapter 16: Something Borrowed

"Ah ha!" Star flipped through one of the books her mother gave her, "Magical creatures with hard outer skins. Certain variations can manipulate elements such as fire and water. Some of the smarter breeds are crafty and distrustful with a tendency to hoard treasure. They are also known to be powerful magic users capable of shapeshifting."

Janna looked over the book, "Star that's about dragons, not hydras."

Star flipped the pages finding the right one, "Okay. Hydra, blah blah blah, tough skin, beasts with no sentiency, heads that regrow, which can only really be stopped by burning the necks so they don't regrow …" Star read to herself. "Okay, nothing here. The hydras weren't the cause."

Star looked out her window as it started to get dark. They had tossed about her books for something that could help figure out what was happening, a cause or anything. Janna found a spell she wanted to try later, bookmarked it, and put it aside.

"Do you two want to stay over tonight?" Star offered, "We can get to work first thing in the morning."

Both girls agreed, and after making some calls and checking in with Marco's parents, they got ready for bed.

0000

They all woke up early in the morning to the sound of workers.

"Uh?" Star looked around.

Star looked outside to the backyard where she saw several sloths busy, quickly setting up and building.

"I've never seen the sloths work so fast... Or do anything fast. What are they doing here anyway?"

"Quest Buy has this program where if you pay extra they come and build anything you buy. Really helpful for party planning."

Pony Head floated in with Kelly and Tad close behind.

"Morning gurl." Pony Head said tired.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" Janna asked the floating head.

"Hekapoo and Marco wrangled me into planning the wedding, then I wrangled in these two as my assistants. More coffee!"

Kelly quickly held out a coffee which Pony Head chugged. "Hm, needed that."

"How did you get the sloths to work so fast?"

"That wasn't Pony Head." Tad told them.

"Yeah," Kelly continued, "That was Hekapoo and Marco."

"What?" Jackie found that confusing.

"Ah," Kelly trembled, "The sloths were being lazy, then Hekapoo and Marco showed up and said some things I don't feel comfortable repeating."

"Yeah, the sloths agreed to work free overtime and will be on call for anything they need." Tad told them. "Which is weird, I mean, I don't talk to Marco that much but he's seemed nice. Maybe a little high strung at times."

"Yeah." Kelly looked at a bunch of pictures from the closing of the Bounce Lounge Star had nearby on the wall. "He and his daughter seemed so nice, didn't think he could get that scary. Hekapoo, well, we've heard the stories."

Star looked at the pictures, and one particularly caught her eye - the one with the words New Bounce Lounge Crew. It had all her friends, including Marco and Seraph. Star remembered having so much fun and seeing Seraph learn to dance. Seraph met Milly Sparkles, and Milly took a liking to the girl knowing she was her friend's daughter. Star almost thought that Seraph might have made her change her mind about closing down the Bounce Lounge. Even if everything came to an end, Star had a lot of fun that night.

"Oooh! I should get a photo booth here! That will be fun! More coffee!"

Kelly poured more down Pony Head's throat.

"What's with all the caffeine?" Jackie looked worried for Pony Head.

"I haven't slept in two days!" Pony Head chuckled, "Hekapoo said if I didn't pull this off, she'd toss me into the Nightmare Realm because I _stole_ her scissors."

Tad, Star, Kelly, and Janna all said at once, "Which you did."

"FOUND!" Pony Head shouted, "Anywho, B-fly, how is the speech going?"

"Speech?" Star quirked an eyebrow. "Best Person speech. After the wedding you have to do a toast, and you have to bring it. I heard Seraph's speech, and it was like super sweet. I think it gave me cavities. I actually started crying, though it might have been because of the lack of sleep."

"I don't have anything."

"Okay, you work on it, and I'll just go get your dress. I know your sizes, so it should come out fine." Pony Head shook her head, "Okay, you work on the speech, and I'll handle the rest."

"What's the speech about?" Star questioned.

"Oh, about Marco and Hekapoo being perfect together, about love's eternal might, and fluff like that."

"Y-yeah, I can do that." Star tried not to cringe.

Star knew it would be a rough day.

0000

They couldn't find anything in any magic book to help. Nothing about Hydras suggested they could mess with people's minds. Any love spell or potion they researched gave them nothing they could work with. Spells tended to have little quirks or side effects, which they didn't notice in the pair. Love potions needed to be taken regularly to keep working and would usually leave people dazed and out of it, but they were focused and certainly weren't drinking a potion regularly.

The girls sat at the kitchen table to have a light lunch while thinking what to do next. They had no proof magic was involved, and no counter for if it was.

"We need to buy time." Janna suggested, "This whole situation is janked up. We need more time to prove it."

"What do you have in mind?" Jackie asked. "Abduct Marco for a few days?"

"Interesting," Star tapped her chin.

"Ah, Star I was kidding." Jackie replied.

"Nothing like that." Janna told them and pointed to the sloths carrying things to the backyard. "We sabotage them. We break some things, stuff goes missing, the puppies get into the food, and the wedding is delayed until they can get some more stuff."

"That's not a bad idea." Jackie had to admit.

"I'll get the first one." Star stuck her tongue out as she aimed her wand at the passing sloths carrying a large table. It was old and fancy-looking and seemed like one good shock would make it fall to bits.

Star shot out a small blast of green magic tripping up the sloths. They dropped the table, but it didn't touch the floor - several sloths threw themselves under it to keep it from breaking.

Clearly they wouldn't be able to try that again now that everyone was ready, so Star hid the wand and planned something else.

0000

They grabbed the puppies and when no one was around tossed them into the kitchen, hoping they would get into all the food that waited there.

"Go on, eat up." Star whispered as the puppies ran into the kitchen.

As they rushed to the food however, Nachos jumped before them. Carefully, the dragon-cycle picked them up with her jaw and carried them outside.

She was devoted in not letting anything ruin her masters' special day.

0000

In the backyard, a large stack of chairs waited for tomorrow to be set up.

Another tiny green magic blast to knock it over, and the chairs all tumbled down. As they started to rain down, everyone rushed in to catch them.

"Ooooh! Boy!" Pony Head yelled out as she channeled the magic from her horn to catch as many as she could in mid air. The sloths all rushed around getting the ones she couldn't. Moments later, they were all taken care of.

0000

The girls were getting desperate since nothing was going their way.

"If only we had some evidence to prove that Marco's been whamied." Janna let out.

"What about her place?" Jackie quickly suggested without thinking. "It would have happened there, right?"

"Right," Star realized it. "We go to the forge and find some evidence."

"You want to break into a demon's house?" Janna laid out, "I am so in."

"Yeah, should be easy enough." Star rubbed her chin, "Hekapoo has been hanging around the house so the Forge should be free. Let's just make sure she's distracted."

They looked around the house but didn't spot Hekapoo.

The found Seraph in her bed room scribbling something down on some paper before scratching it out.

"Hey, Serah." Star called out, "Is your Mom around?"

Seraph shook her head, not removing her eyes from the sheet before her. "She left a little while ago. She's going to check on some the invitations RSVPs - some people haven't replied. Did you need her for something?"

"Not really," Star told her, "Have you seen your Dad? I need to borrow his scissors."

"He's gone too. He took Justferg and Alfonzo to get suits at QuestBuy. They needed to get suits quickly."

Star internally panicked. She didn't have a pair of scissors, so if Marco took his then how would they get to the Forge?

"Do you want to borrow my scissors?" Seraph pulled out a pair of scissors.

"Wait, you have your own scissors?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah, my Mom makes them, so why wouldn't she give me a pair?"

"I just thought you have to go on a long trial to get them."

"Yeah, mostly, but she does make a few exceptions. I know she made them for my uncles too."

"Then why haven't you've used them? I mean, I've never seen you use them or anything." Janna questioned.

Seraph gave her a noncommittal shrug, "Mom drilled into my head the rules for them and how I'm not supposed to abuse their power, so I tend to use them only when I have to. My Dad is always up for using his. Plus, it's not like I have places to go to or even know that many places I need them to take me."

"Well, thanks." Star grabbed the pair of scissors.

"No problem," Seraph told her, "Just be careful, I think my Mom has child safety locks on so it won't take you anywhere dangerous."

"Oh don't worry, we won't go anywhere dangerous."

They stepped out into the hall, opened a flaming red portal, and went into it.

They had expected a flaming forest or the like, but they were all surprised by what they found.

"This doesn't look like it did last time." Star mused out loud.

The sky was green with dark clouds swirling in it. Around them stood huge trees, a large, wild scary forest a short distance away and in the dead center of it all a large tree with a brilliant flame resting in it. That was the Forge, Hekapoo's home, a large door with a single flame above it. By the door stood large stone dragon-like figures with jewels for eyes and large flames in their maws. Stonework was laid all around the entrance and in the tree itself.

 _That_ Star had expected, but the last time she had arrived the ground was little more orange-y dirt, but now there was lush grass in its place. A short distance away there was a swing set and a sandbox. There was even a small lake with fresh blue water and a tree with a tire swing.

The forge now seemed out of place with the world - the landscape was barren, harsh, a place where only the strong could survive in, but this spot now seemed like an oasis that welcomed all who saw it. Star took a deep breath and smelled the scent of fresh flowers in the air.

Star would never have imagined this as the home of Hekapoo. She could only assume she changed things so that Seraph could have a comfortable home.

Janna looked around and studied the stone work. At the corner of it, she found two letters written in the foundation before it became hard - 'MD'.

"Yeah, Marco was here helping to build this place." Janna could recognize his handwriting.

"How are we supposed to get in here?" Jackie looked at the door. "I mean, do those scissors work as a key or something?"

"I got the key right here." Star held out her wand as it started to glow green.

Janna on the other hand just pushed the door open. "Huh, it's not locked."

Star dropped her wand. "Now that I remember, last time I was here I just kicked the door open. Guess Hekapoo doesn't lock her front door. Makes sense, there is no one near here for hundreds of miles."

They strode into the Forge and looked around. Inside it was fairly the same as to the last time Star was here. There were a few new things, a rather nice new couch and a framed picture of a young looking Seraph cuddling Nachos sat on a table. There were shelves with all sorts of small odds and ends; Jackie noticed a small misshapen iron sculpture of Hekapoo among the items.

Star fiddled with her wand, and the wand's face changed into a small screen. "Okay, this thing should help us find any source of magic. Maybe we can find what caused this."

They quickly found the enclosed room of the actual Forge. It was the heart of the building but had been changed. Now it was in an enclosed room with doors and everything; Star wagered that Hekapoo didn't think it would be a good idea to let a toddler wander into the room.

The three girls stared in awe at the center of the room where flames roared out; they all felt the raw power contained within. The walls were decorated with finished and unfinished scissors. Hekapoo's work table had all sorts of drawers filled with all kinds of materials.

"Neat!" Janna marveled. "So this is where Marco's baby mama works. This seems more like it." Janna stepped closer to the flames and spotted something on one of the tables, several small iron sculptures. There was a small sword, a small dragon, and various small animals.

"Are these toys?"

"Hm?" Star looked at them all, "I think they're Serens"

"Serens?" Jackie questioned.

"Yeah, she told me she used to play in the forge with her Mom and make stuff; they must be hers."

They quickly found nothing and walked out of the room closing the door behind them. They followed Star's wand until they reached another room.

They opened the door only to scream as they came to face with the maw of a hydra.

Then they realized it was just a skull.

"I guess this is one of the hydra that Marco and Hekapoo killed." Star sighed.

The room looked like a normal sewing room, except there were bits and pieces of tanned hydra skin everywhere.

"I thought time worked differently here. Shouldn't all of this have rotted away?" Jackie examined the flesh.

"Probably using a spell to keep things from wearing down or aging." Star looked around. "I know people use those spells for all sorts of stuff like clothes and weapons to keep them like new. There is probably a spell like that on the whole place. The only problem is those spells don't work on living things."

The spells would work fine on tanned skin but not on anything currently alive.

Star studied the tanned flesh, but if she paid attention, she felt a bit of magic in the skin.

"I don't think anyone has been in this room for a while. Hekapoo probably hasn't touched any of this after she made those cloaks for Marco's parents."

As Star went to put the tanned skin back, a few bug remains fell to the floor.

"Yuk." Jackie let out. "She's not much for cleaning."

Janna took a look at them, "They kinda look like some sort of parasite or something that eats dead stuff. Must have gotten stuck in there and died out without anything to eat. Probably should check those cloaks for bed bugs or something."

Hygiene aside, they didn't find anything there.

They left the room and found a locked room being the last source of magic. It was a vault, and though Janna wanted to try lock picking it, Star decided something else. She tried to think back to the magic she used when trying to get Marco out of the closet; it was easier this time now that she had her wand.

The door popped open.

As they stepped inside, they saw countless magical artifacts. Janna looked at a gold spider statue and a glowing crystal eye.

Janna reached for them.

"No! Don't touch them!" Star shouted. "I have no idea what any of those things are, but the stuff I do recognize is bad." She pointed to a red ruby, "I've seen one of those. They act like grenades, anything that gets caught into the explosion burns until nothing is left."

Star pointed at a small golden box, "I don't even have a clue what that is, but just looking at it makes me feel sick."

Star stared at a sword with a dark aura held in a golden cage. The sword floated in the cage shaking it violently when it noticed someone was looking at it. The girls were forced to take a step back as if the sword was raging at them to use it.

"Ah, yeah. I don't think we should even touch anything here. Just about everything here has a lot of power, and all of it feels dangerous."

"I guess it makes sense." Jackie was forced to admit, even she was feeling weary about the vault. "She doesn't bother to lock her front door, but she sure made sure to lock this door for a reason."

Janna was tempted to argue the fact if just to play with all the magical artifacts, but they had stuff to do. "So, you're sure none of this could put the whammy on them?"

"I'm not sure about it." Star admitted, "Maybe if I still had the spell book I could figure it out, but-"

Jackie sighed, "If both Marco and Hekapoo are affected, I don't think it would be by something that's locked up."

Star had to confirm, "Yeah, none of them look like they've been used recently. Especially if Hekapoo thought it was dangerous enough to lock up, I would think she'd try to be careful."

Star paused looking at a scary looking mask on a shelf; Star found herself staring at it, unable to turn away, slowly reaching for it with a blank look on her face.

"No! Stopping this!" Jackie pulled Star away, and Janna closed the door behind them.

They walked Star out of the Forge trying to get her some fresh air to clear her mind.

They found themselves out beyond the forge, and to their surprise, a garden turned into a huge field of flowers. All flamed headed flowers of red, yellow, and orange.

"Celosia." Janna identified the flowers.

"That's Seraph's middle name." Jackie reminded them,

"I guess Hekapoo really liked the flower." Star wagered out loud.

They walked out and found a small stone path between the flowers leading towards a large gazebo in the middle of the field.

The gazebo had an elegant design that seemed to be hand crafted and decked out with a wonderfully carved table in the middle, perfectly suited for the small structure. Even a sound system was built into the gazebo and a simple candle sat on the table.

As Star recovered from the effects of the mask, they sat there to rest and plot out their next move.

Suddenly, a red portal formed near the gazebo forcing the girls to jump behind the table to hide.

Hekapoo walked out followed by Pony Head, Tad, Kelly, and some Sloths.

"Wow, thats a lot of lowers." Pony Head marveled. "I think this should be enough."

"Yeah, take as many as you need, just be careful." Hekapoo told them.

They started to carefully cut the flowers and collect them.

Kelly asked, "Uh, Miss Hekapoo, so I guess you really like this flower."

Hekapoo cheerfully smiled, "Yeah, its special to me. Marco gave me some on our first date. After that I planted the seeds, and over time I found myself with this garden." Hekapoo pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear, "I don't let people come here. I've only really let Marco and Seraph come here before, but I wanted to have these flowers there for the wedding. I felt like sharing them for this. So, just be very careful."

They heard that and took extra care taking the flowers.

Hekapoo herself picked the most perfect flowers, "Yes, these are perfect for my bouquet."

With all the flowers they needed collected, Hekapoo made another portal and they left.

0000

Star and the others waited a half hour after they left just to make sure they weren't spotted before making another portal home. Star returned the scissors to Seraph.

The girls gathered in Star's room to try and think up a new plan.

"Okay, just listen," Janna started up, "Fire-"

"No!" Jackie stopped her.

"Star," Kelly walked in carrying a dress bag. "I got your dress. Pony Head finally got a chance to take a nap. It's been crazy today. It seemed like something went wrong every two-seconds. But we got extra sloths, and they are looking over everything." Kelly placed the dress on the bed. "But it should be all over soon, tomorrow is the big day."

"Tomorrow…"

0000

Star came up with a plan after the others left, she got up and walked to Marco's room.

She found Marco at his desk with ball up papers tossed around him.

"Marco?"

"Star?" He looked away from his notepad.

"What are you doing there?"

"Trying to write my wedding vows." Marco sighed, "I'm trying to write down how much Hekapoo means to me, trying to get those feeling across, but I just can't put it into words. Everything I write, it's just not good enough. How is someone supposed to put into words how much they love someone?"

"I-I-I don't know." Star looked at him. She hoped to talk him out of this. She hoped to talk some sense into him. "You really love her?"

"More than I thought was possible." Marco smiled to himself as he thought about his wife-to-be fondly.

Star wondered: Why did hearing that hurt so much? Why did she feel like crying?

"Well, you better get to bed soon. It's gonna be a big day tomorrow." Star quickly walked out the door.

She made her way back to her room and found the dress she was to wear. She felt warm tears streak across her cheeks.

She loved that he was happy. She really did, but why did it hurt so much?

0000

The day broke and the house came to life, with various people getting everything for the wedding. Soon the guests would arrive.

Jackie and Janna arrived early to meet Star. Jackie was wearing a green dress, and Janna was wearing a black dress that seemed more fitting for a funeral. It even had a black veil.

Star still hadn't changed into the dress; she waited for them in her pajamas.

They sat around together in her room. They were silent for a long moment, none daring to speak.

"What are we going to do?" Janna asked.

"I don't know," Star admitted, "but Marco seems happy. He seems like he's really in love with her."

Jackie said solemnly, "Then, I guess we shouldn't do anything. If he's really in love, we should just let them … get married." The words tasted bitter in her mouth.

Star let out a long tired sigh, "I guess that's it. I better get dressed then. I'll see you out there." Star got up and walked weakly to the dress. Star walked away with the dress to the bathroom to start her day.

The other girls didn't know what to do.

Janna looked over to Jackie, "Are you seriously okay with this?"

Jackie simply said, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I know we agreed not to talk about this, but you admitted in that crazy truth room that you weren't over Marco."

"I know"

"So why aren't you more upset? Why are you giving up? Why are you doing nothing?"

"I want him to be happy. Maybe this is for the best, Marco and her can be together… they can be a family with their daughter and… maybe it's for the best. They can be happy." Her words were quiet and weak.

"And you're just giving up?" Janna got up on her feet.

"Janna in that room you admitted you liked Marco too … I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I've always had the feeling you liked Marco, but you never did anything. So I thought you'd be okay when I asked him out. I'm sorry if I hurt you …" Jackie couldn't look Janna in the eyes, "Seeing someone you like being with someone else … hurts."

"You didn't hurt me. I knew he liked you. He liked you for years." Janna sat besides her.

"You admitted you liked him in the room."

"Yeah, maybe I do, but this isn't …" Janna paused, the words getting lost in her throat, "It's weird, it's weird to think about this. He's been in my life for almost all of it, and now he's just up and leaving. Going where I can't follow, and I just don't know how to deal with this."

Jackie was silent for a moment, "Then be happy for him, or try to be. It hurts that he's leaving like this," tears started to form in the corner of her eyes, "This is all so sudden but just try to be happy, that he'll be happy, and so will Seraph and … even Hekapoo. They will be happy and that's good."

"Yeah, yeah, that's good," Janna's eyes began to tear up too.

Both girls held each other as they cried silently, they didn't know what they had expected. Maybe they expected they would have a chance with him later when things settled, or maybe they would have time to get over him before this happened. But now it was hitting them all at once, and they had no choice but to accept it.

Janna always teased Marco that she'd be there whenever he got divorced; she meant it, but she never stopped to think how much it would hurt to see him get married in the first place.

0000

Pony Head was taking the invitations as people entered, leaving Tad and Kelly to take the guests to their seats.

She didn't know what to expect; she assumed many of those invited would be boring humans that Marco knew on Earth and some delegates that Hekapoo had to invite to such things. Being Royalty, Pony Head knew you just had to invite people to this stuff. Nobles could get so fussy if they didn't get invites, though more times than not they would bring nice presents.

Most of the wedding party had arrived and was getting ready. If anyone started to cause trouble, Kelly was ready to toss them out. It looked like they had all angles covered.

"Can I have your invitations?" Pony Head looked at the guests.

One was a large owl made of golden light and the other was a pink chalk drawing that slid to the walls.

"Here you go." The owl handed Pony Head their invitations.

Pony Head made a few notes on a clipboard, "Okay, Mister Cosmic Owl we've got a seat for you near back. Mister Prismo the side fence has been reserved for you. Tad will show you to your seats. Any presents can be left at the table to your right."

Tad floated before them leading them to their seats.

The Cosmic Owl said, "Still can't believe they're getting married."

"Yeah," Prismo admitted, "Pretty weird. But they do make a nice couple. He's a nice kid, I mean when I met him he used his wish to get something to help another person. He could have used his wish to summon Hekapoo and end the trial, but no. He decided to use it to help someone else."

"Yeah, that's nice. So, you think the rumor is true? That they have a kid together?"

"That's got to be a rumor. He's too much of a safety kid to let that happen."

Prismo slid across the walls to the backyard fence as the owl placed two boxes on the table.

0000

Marco fussed with his tie in front of the mirror. His freshly pressed dress jacket was on its hanger in his closet. He looked himself in the mirror hoping to get the tie just right.

It was his big day, and he wanted everything to be perfect.

There was a knock on the door, and his parents walked in.

"Mijo?" Rafael asked, "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great. I just can't get this tie on right." Marco flicked his tie.

"Let me get that." Angie walked over.

Marco noticed his parents were already dressed and ready. His Mom was wearing a lovely orange dress, and his father was wearing a black suit. They were both wearing the cloaks Hekapoo made them.

"You're wearing the cloaks?"

"Yes," Angie smiled. "It seemed appropriate."

"And they are quiet stylish." Rafael added.

Angie fixed his tie, "My little man," a tear formed in the corner of her eye. "Marco, I can't believe this day has come. You getting married. You have a teenage daughter. You're gonna move out. It just seems like it was yesterday you were this little baby clinging to my arms."

"You've grown up so fast." His father told him a proud smile on his face, "and now you have a family of your own." He sobbed wiping a happy tear away.

Angie finished up, "We're just so happy you found someone that makes you so happy."

Angie hugged her son, and Rafael quickly joined in.

Marco smiled hugging his parents back, "I love you too guys."

0000

Pony Head looked at two burly men wearing futuristic black body armor. "Once more."

One of the men said, "Time Baby has sent his apologizes, but he wasn't able to come in person. He's sent us in his place."

"Ah, you do know this is supposed to be a fancy shin-ding. You're not exactly dressed for a wedding."

Both pulled out bow ties and put them on.

"Okay," Pony Head relented. "Did you bring a gift?"

"Time Baby sends a bottle of Sands of Time."

"Okay, put it on the table -" Pony Head paused, "Wait. If Time Baby isn't coming, who's that?"

Pony Head pointed to someone she just recalled she saw. She pointed to a large floating baby head with one reddish spit curl. The baby, as if sensing them talking about it, turned towards them and giggled.

Both men looked at each other, "Ah, I have no clue who that is."

Pony Head started to flip through the guest list.

0000

Hekapoo was busy fixing her hair. She looked at the mirror as she tried to perfect her hair. It really didn't help because she had so much to do.

There was a slow tapping on the door, "Come in."

Hekapoo blinked as Angie walked in, "Hekapoo?"

"Hi," Hekapoo smiled,

"You can call me Mom if you want. I know you want to."

Hekapoo hated to admit it, but she really did. Angie was so sweet and kind.

Angie cleared her throat, "On Earth we have a few traditions for a wedding. The bride has to have something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. It's a silly superstition, but they're meant to secure good luck for the wedding and couple. "

It seemed like an odd tradition, Hekapoo never paid too much attention to weddings. For her, it seemed like a new Butterfly was getting hitched. But traditions made people feel better, like they had control over things, that doing the same thing over and over again made things better.

"I guess this dress is something new," Hekapoo motioned to the white dress she wore.

She normally tried to avoid wearing white; it tended to blend in with her natural skin tone. If it wasn't for the sparkly tiny crystals that laced it, people might not know what was dress and what was her skin. It was made of a fine material; some pixies made the dress for her in a hurry. The dress had faint designs of flames and star bursts, most prominently at the skirt and the corset. She had to admit she did look good.

"And this is something old." Hekapoo lifted a black tiara that laid on the make-up table. It wasn't her usual one, this one was still black but held a red jewel in the center. When she and Rhombulus were young, they played and made her a crown and this was it. They had altered it a bit, and now it would hold her veil for the day.

"I have something blue," Angie held out a small black box.

Hekapoo took it and opened it, inside was a pair of earrings with shining blue stones.

Hekapoo looked up to Angie's smiling face.

Angie told her, "I wore those earrings when I got married. My mother gave them to me. They were the earrings that she wore on her wedding day, and the ones her mother wore. In my family, it's a tradition to pass them down to our daughter on their wedding day."

"But -" Hekapoo interjected.

"I know," Angie stopped her, "you're not my daughter. I've never had a daughter, some of the exchange students we've housed here have felt like sons and daughters, but it's not the same. Seraph is lovely, but I'm her grandmother not her mother." Angie looked her in the eyes, "You love my son."

"I do."

"That wasn't a question. I know. When you told the story to Seraph, I hear it in the words. The way you talk about him; the way you two act around each other." A smile spread across her face, "I'd be proud to be your mother." Angie slowly pushed the box towards the girl.

Hekapoo felt tears welling up in her eyes, "I'd be honored to consider you my mother." Hekapoo sniffled, "And when the day comes, I promise I'll give these to Seraph."

Before Hekapoo could say anything else, she found Angie's arms wrapped around her pulling her into a warm hug.

Angie's voice cracked, "You still need something borrowed."

0000

Moon was a little angry, not at anyone specifically, more about the situation. She wanted to show up bright and early to the wedding and make sure to offer Hekapoo a hearty congratulations, but a few small emergencies held her back. Now they were barely showing up minutes before the wedding was supposed to start.

Manfred opened the portal and drove the carriage to the location.

She looked at her husband who had his arms cross and had been muttering under his breath all morning,

"… My little girl … Marco … so sudden … they were supposed to … Starco … "

Moon didn't have time to ask, but then the carriage paused, "Are we there already?"

Manfred turned back, "Yes, there is a bit of traffic jam. If your majesty would like, you can disembark here."

Moon looked around. There were various cars, carriages, things she didn't know to describe, and all sort of flying vehicles above them including one she was sure was a spacecraft. There was even a long line of humans and non-humans waiting to be let into the backyard.

But that wasn't what got her attention, "Is that the Diaz Household?"

0000

Pony Head flinched and quickly moved behind Kelly and Tad. Many of the other guests were giving this new guest a wide berth.

He was some sort of demon, maybe. Honestly, Pony Head would have to admit that he felt off. He was a sickly gray and his head perfectly bald, not even eyebrows. His eyes were a steely blue. He wore a long black leather cloak, and wrapped around his torso were several thick chains. That wasn't what drew her eyes though. There were circular saw blades sticking out of his forehead, and they were in there deep. The man didn't seem to react to any pain that he should be in, and he didn't seem to bleed.

He had no readable expression on his face and just stared at the teens.

"Uh-" Pony Head gulped, " C-can I help you?"

He silently handed her a card.

"Ah, you're a guest?"

"Yes, my name should be on the list. Solusod Corruptor of Souls."

Pony Head looked through the list, "Oh! There you are."

"It's a lovely surprise to find myself invited to the wedding of Hekapoo and Marco. Considering how I met them, I suppose it's appropriate if not ironic."

Pony Head could only stare, his voice stayed perfectly emotionless.

Tad smiled, "Here, I'll show you to you'll seat."

Solusod Corruptor of Souls just followed along, just sort of floating above the ground.

Kelly looked at her boyfriend, who seemed to be the only one unaffected by the man's appearance and aura.

Tad smiled happily, making small talk, "So, how do you know Marco and Hekapoo?"

"I met them at a wedding years ago, terrible situation, so many died. Hopefully this one will turn out better. It's such a lovely day for it too."

"Isn't it?"

0000

Moon had walked up to the door with River by her side holding a large gift.

River had been huffing to himself.

Moon still had not idea what got him so upset; he was usually a joy at such occasions. While she had trouble expressing herself, River excelled at that, and he just adored weddings and what they represented.

Moon made a note to ask him about it once this was all over. At the moment, she was more confused as to why they were here.

She knocked on the door; she needed some answers.

"You're supposed to go to the backyard! The line is huge! You can't miss it." Star yelled out before opening the door. "Mom? Dad?"

"Star?" Moon was confused.

Moon found Star dressed in a yellow and red dress. "You're here for the wedding too? I guess Hekapoo invited you."

Star waved them inside.

"Star, what's going on?" Moon asked her daughter.

"It's a wedding Mom, " Star told them. Moon noted a tone that seemed out of place in Star's voice, "Didn't you get the invitations? Pony Head is checking them; you brought them, right?"

"Why is Hekapoo having her wedding here?" Moon was still utterly confused. "Here at the Diaz Household?"

"Because she's becoming a Diaz." Seraph walked into the room wearing her own yellow and red dress. She smiled, "Hello King River."

"Seraph my dear!" River broke out a huge grin. "It's a pleasure to see you again! And on such a wonderful occasion too! You must be delighted."

"I am." Seraph paused and turned to Star. "Star, who's the tall lady with the big poofy hair?"

"Ah," Star began, "That's my Mom."

Seraph blinked before some idea caught up to her; she bowed and did a proper courtly curtsy. "Your Majesty. Pardon my rudeness on failing to introduce myself and my intrusion. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Seraph Celosia Diaz. I'm the daughter of Lady Hekapoo, Forger of Dimensional Scissors."

Moon couldn't help but smile. It was so rare to see young people know how to do such proper greetings.

Moon blinked, "Ah, you are Hekapoo's daughter?"

Moon didn't know what to expect. When she first found out that Hekapoo had a child, she expected a baby or maybe an infant.

She had some idea on how time ran faster in Hekapoo's dimension, but this was not what she expected.

"It's good to see that Hekapoo has taught you proper etiquette."

"Oh, my Dad was the one to teach me that." Seraph informed. After her first greeting with Wukong, Marco decided to teach her those things.

Moon flinched, "Ah, yes, your father. The man your mother is marrying... Good Old Mud."

"Mud?" Seraph quirked an eyebrow, "Marco Ubaldo Diaz." Seraph spoke as if feeling out the words in her mouth, "Uh, I guess his initials do spell out mud."

"Marco?!" The Queen let out.

With a glimmer in his eyes River patted Seraph's head, "Yes, Marco Diaz. Good man. The proud father of this wonderful cherub." River blinked and looked around, "Where is he? I wanted to congratulate both of your parents." He gasped, "I haven't had a chance to congratulate your mother on your birth. I can't say I did it properly with Marco either. Oh, you're how old now?"

"A couple months." Seraph told him.

"Months?" Moon gasped.

"Still, I should have gotten around to it sooner." River scolded himself, "I should tell them now."

"Mom and Dad are both getting ready for the wedding." Seraph told him, "It's going to start soon."

"Hm, yes. I suppose it should wait."

"Oh, let me show you where you can drop off your gift."

"Thank you, my dear. Your parents must be delighted to have such an adorable little girl, and you're all going to be a family! THIS IS SUCH A WONDERFUL DAY!"

They started to walk away when Seraph paused and turned to the queen and gave her a bow, "I must take my leave. I hope you enjoy our celebration."

With that they left, Moon smiled, the girl was adorable. There was something so child-like about her and how she held the ends of skirt as she bowed. It was almost like seeing a small child trying their best to be proper.

She sighed and turned to her daughter, "Star, what is going on? Why are Marco and Hekapoo getting married? Was that really their daughter? Is she really that young?"

The more she thought about it; the more confused that Moon was getting. Her head felt like it was actually spinning.

"Yeah, she is, and yeah they are. I know; it's all so sudden."

"Okay. Star please explain everything."

Star looked into her mother's eyes, and with everything that was happening with this wedding and her paranoia, it just started to flood out, "It started off in a rainy day …"

* * *

 **Hey, APraeda here! Unfortunately, I need to go on hiatus for time unspecified - lately my life turned into a total mess and I need a bit of time off to sort thru it all, catch my footing again. But another person will be taking over for now as the beta until we can get to work on LFLD both! Anyway, am hoping to come back here soon. Till then - take care!**

* * *

 **Hello all. I'm** MrNovak **. I am the beta for this chapter and will be filling in for APraeda for the time being. I am looking forward to helping with this amazing story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So Hi. Stuff. Yeah. A lot of stuff happened in this chapter. So let me know what you guys think, what you liked and so on. We hope to have the next chapter out for you soon.**

 **One final note, let me know what you guys think of this idea: get some of the older chapters and have them read with a cast as the charactrs and post them, probably on youtube. Sort of like audio books. Would anyone be interested in this?**


	17. Chapter 17: My Best Friend's Wedding

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs the Forces of Evil**

* * *

Chapter 17: My Best Friend's Wedding

Pony Head had ducked out to help a special guest get to Hekapoo. She left Kelly in charge of the line, while Tad walked guests to their seats.

"Oh, golly! I was so surprised to get a wedding invitation. I always say you just can't miss a wedding. They are joyous occasions, and if someone invites you, there is no distance too far."

Kelly nodded as one of the last guests spoke to her. He was a small hairy orange guy with a big green hat and a little bow tie.

He wasn't rude or anything. He'd just gotten into this whole long talk.

"Wander!" His companion stopped him. "The wedding is about to start, and we have to get to our seats."

"Oh, you're right Sylvia." He spoke to his blue… reptile horse… thing… Kelly had no idea what she was.

Tad smiled, "Here, let me show you the way to your seats. Oh, let's talk after this. I want to know more about that fruit salad you were talking about."

Sylvia took a second, "Yeah, sorry about him. He can get a little excited at weddings."

"Yeah, no worries." Kelly smiled at her.

She turned back to the line, only a few more people to get seated.

0000

"Milly!" Hekapoo greeted her friend as she rolled in.

"Hekapoo." Milly smiled.

"Well, I'll just leave you two." Pony Head excused herself; there was something she needed to do.

Neither paid her any attention.

"Look at you!" Milly smiled, "You're getting married. I never thought you'd settle down. Oh and you've got a kid! I met her when the Bounce Lounge closed down. She's such a sweet kid."

"Thanks." Hekapoo smiled, "Thanks for being here. It looks like retirement suits you."

"The party had to come to an end, and I just wanted a different life. Is that why you're getting married?"

Hekapoo scratched the back of her head and took a breath, "I love him, and we have Seraph and … there was this moment where everything just became so clear. We want to be together, that's the life I want."

There was a small smile on Milly's face, "Honey, I adore you, but are you sure you want this? Your immortal, and from what I've seen he's not."

Hekapoo frowned for a moment before it was replaced by a sad smiled, "I know I'll outlive him and my daughter … I'd rather make the most of the time we have together than regret not having them in my life."

Milly patted Hekapoo's cheek, "Don't be sad. It's supposed to be a happy day, for now enjoy it."

"I'm glad you agreed to be one of my bridesmaids."

"Well, I couldn't say no. You don't have that many friends."

"I'm just too much for most people to handle."

"I've noticed. The nights you came to the Bounce Lounge aged me this badly. I'm young for my species."

"Oh please, you're old for the universe."

Both old friends traded quips, just enjoying the moments before the wedding.

0000

Marco finished getting ready. He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled, "Perfect."

Marco's thoughts shifted to his family and all the help they had provided in making this possible. He felt lucky to have them in his life. Then he remembered a member of the family that couldn't be here for the wedding, his Abuelita. He would have loved to have his grandmother Linda here, but time didn't allow it. And now she was gone.

But she'd be back from her cruise in a few weeks, and they could share the good news with her then. She never did remember to charge her cell phone while on trips.

There was a knock on the door, "Come in."

Marco was confused; who would bother him right before the wedding?

"Hey." Pony Head let herself in.

Of course, Marco thought to himself.

"Hey Earth Tur-" She bit her tongue, "Marco." She should at least try and be nice on his wedding day. "Marco, look I know we were not really friends."

"Yeah, we're not, well, not good ones."

"Rivals?"

"Frenemies. I get along with you better than Tom. You've only tried to kill me once."

"That's setting the bar really low," She scoffed, "Comparing me with Tom?"

Marco chuckled, "Maybe a little."

"Well, I wanted to say something, and it's hard for me. So just don't stop me." She took a deep breath, "I hope your happy, and that whatever you're looking for, you find it with Hekapoo. That you can give your little girl the life she deserves. You guys deserve to be happy."

Marco was actually moved by her sudden kindness. "Thanks Pony Head, it really means-" He paused and cringed as Pony Head coughed up something.

"Yeah, I brought you that."

Marco picked it up to find out it was a picture.

"I kinda let it slip to the girls at St. O's that Princess Marco was getting married to Hekapoo, and well…"

Marco looked at the picture of the Princesses holding a large sign that read 'Congratulations on your Wedding!', all around the picture were scribbled on messages from the princess wish them luck.

"They all wanted to come, but I told them it was a small gathering. They understood and sent presents with me-"

Pony Head was silenced as she found Marco hugging her. "Thank you."

"O! Don't start. " Pony Head smiled, "You threatened me to do this. Don't make it any weirder. Besides, I kinda like this. I'm thinking of maybe going into event planning, and I love getting to tell everyone what to do."

"Ah, aren't you going to be a queen?"

She blinked, "Oh, yeah. Never mind, that is a much better job."

0000

"Am I an idiot?" Star asked her mother.

She'd told her everything, about the trial, about Seraph, about the wedding, and her suspicions that it was a spell. In the end, it just felt like she had done everything wrong.

Star didn't know the last time she talked with her mother for this long or was so honest with her. They sat on the couch. Star lowered her head, "Am I? Do I just want to ruin this wedding? Do I lo-"

"No." Moon told her, "Star, you are not an idiot. I think I understand."

Star looked up at her mother confused.

0000

Tom found himself sitting next to Mr Candle. He was surprised to find out Mr. Candle had been invited; it seemed that Marco felt some respect for the man for his help. Tom had been upset at the short notice of the event because he couldn't get a date on such short notice. He didn't want to seem dateless in front of Star. He thought about trying to flirt with her during the event, but thought it would be pointless as she'd be busy with her Best Person duties. Still, he was touched that Marco invited him, so he came in a suit and brought a nice gift.

What upset him now was his seating.

He was way in the middle and couldn't see anything because some giant bug sat in front of him. Now the bug was making some noise.

Something boiled up in Tom, "Hey mind moving it you bi-"

Tom stopped as the bug and those seated next to him turned to look at him. Tom suddenly felt chilled to the core.

"What was that?"

Tom suddenly felt small and weak.

"You're Styx!" Mr. Candle spoke up.

The bug man answered, "Yes, I am."

"And your Dia, Noire, Princess Puri Puri Pearl, Maximus, and-"

"What?" Tom asked his servant.

"Oh, sorry. Master Tom these are some of the best warriors in the universe. They made it to the finals at the Battle Nexus Tournament. I've been watching the tape non-stop. You were all amazing."

"Thank you very much," Styx gratefully accepted the complement.

"Ah, and you're friends with Hekapoo," Tom gulped. He knew he was powerful, but he wasn't willing to fight off several powerful warriors.

The woman in black, the one that gave Tom the most feeling of dread spoke, "Actually we're associates with Marco."

"We're friends," A woman with brown pigtails smiled, "We actually met him during the tournament."

"He was a noble fighter," The gladiator dinosaur explained.

"Yes," The pearl themed princes smiled, "he is. We all sort of stayed in touch after the tournament, and he invited us."

Nearby Wukong sat and smiled contently. The tournament was meant to bring people together, and he was happy to hear that these fighters had become friends.

"So, yeah. Marco is all about martial arts and stuff; he must be a big fan of yours." Tom wagered.

They all turned to him giving him an odd look. Mr. Candle being the first to speak up, "Master Tom, Mister Diaz won the tournament."

"What?!" Tom yelled out earning him some looks from all around him.

Suddenly a quiet voice was heard behind him, "Young man, I suggest you quiet down."

Tom found a man wrapped in chains working on a small puzzle box.

"Yeah, sorry." Tom wondered to himself how many dangerous people did Marco know.

Marco walked passed them as he moved towards the aisle with Alfonzo and Ferguson close by.

Everyone started to settle into their seats; it seemed like it was about to start.

Styx sobbed, and Dia patted his shoulder, "Come on little guy. Don't cry."

The large bug man sniffled, "I can't help it, weddings always make me cry."

Noire simply smirked, "You had time to prepare. I think it's very obvious that this is how things would have turned out."

Nearby, Angie cracked her fingers as she sat by the keyboard to play the wedding march to signal Hekapoo to start walking. They just waited for everyone to be in their spots.

"Are you ready?" Rhombulus stood in the middle of Seraph and Milly.

Seraph smiled, "Yeah."

Marco winked at his daughter and gave her a big smile.

Seraph smiled holding onto the flowers she had been given. Her mother made her the Maid of Honor, and she'd been working hard for this wedding. Doing everything she could to help. She stayed up writing her speech and re-writing it until she was happy with it.

Her parents were getting married. Her heart was beating in such a weird way; she wanted to cry in a happy way.

Marco took a deep breath as he got ready and looked over to his side where Alfonzo and Ferguson stood.

"Wait, a minute." Marco spoke up, "Where's Star?"

Those gathered looked around and didn't see the princess. Eyes fell onto River who sat by an empty chair. The King shrugged, not sure where Moon or Star were.

"Maybe an emergency thing popped up on Mewni." Seraph offered up.

"Bah?" Lekmet offered up as he stood ready for the ceremony.

"That so true," Rhombulus said, "so, should we just wait until we find Star?"

Marco looked around, and his eyes fell where Star should have been standing. Marco felt a pain in his chest; he wanted Star to be here by his side. What should have been a happy day suddenly had a cloud of darkness looming over it. For the first time in a while, Marco frowned.

Then he saw the face of his daughter and smiled again.

Marco scratched the back of his neck, "No, I think we've waited too long." Marco turned to those seated. "I need a new best person, and there is one person I can think of that should be here. We kinda started off rough, but he's someone I do consider a friend. He's got a bit of an odd temperament for a demon, but still."

Tom's eyes glimmered, "… Marco … It's an honor …"

"Solusod Corruptor of Souls, come up here."

"It would be my absolute pleasure." The ever stoic demon quickly floated up and towards Marco.

"What the-" Tom let out.

"Silence!" Noire yelled. "The ceremony is about to start."

"Just pet the bunny, Master Tom." Mr. Candle told him.

The gray skinned demon hovered to Marco as he took his rightful spot.

Things would have proceeded different in normal wedding with the groomsmen walking down the aisle with the bridesmaids, but that wasn't advisable with the wedding being planned so quickly. That and Hekapoo wanted to make an entrance.

As Angie started to play the keyboard, the wedding March began.

The yelping of the laser puppies was heard as they raced down the aisle, each dressed with bow ties or little red bows. The pups tossed flower petals around as they reached the front of the aisle and settled down by the chairs. Followed behind was Nachos, who was carefully balancing a pillow with a pair of rings. As the dragon reached the front, she moved to Marco's side ready to deliver the treasure she cared for.

After a moment, Hekapoo walked out of the house ready for what was to come.

Marco's heart pounded in his chest. He felt as if time was standing still as his eyes fell on Hekapoo looking beautiful in her wedding dress.

She smiled, and her cheeks quickly reddened as her eyes locked with his.

Hekapoo felt all the eyes around focus on her, but she didn't care. She couldn't help but focus on Marco, thinking how wonderful he looked in his suit.

Hekapoo held her bouquet of celosias tightly, careful not to crush them. The train of her wedding dress wafting behind her as she walked.

"Ready?" Omnitraxus manifested next to her and above everyone else, and he stretched out his hand to the Forger.

"I am." Hekapoo said confidently.

Somehow the giant skull almost seemed like it was smiling despite not having lips.

Marco was stunned as he watched Hekapoo walk closer, he couldn't force himself to turn away.

As Hekapoo reached the altar she smirked, "You like what you see?"

"Ah, yeah," Marco whispered, "you look beautiful."

Hekapoo whispered, "You don't look bad yourself."

Omnitraxus chuckled and moved Hekapoo's hand towards Marco. "Take good care of each other."

"I promise I will." Marco smiled at the giant.

Hekapoo gave Marco's hand a good squeeze enjoying feeling his warmth, even through the silk gloves she ended up borrowing from Milly.

They were doing it. They were going to marry, and as impossible as it all seemed, it was right to them.

"Bah!" Lekmet cleared his throat and spoke to everyone gathered, "Baw bah wah baah ah wah."

Rhombulus sniffled, "That was beautiful, equal parts touching and funny."

Marco and Hekapoo glanced at each other. Those watching them were just as confused as they were.

Hekapoo finally spoke up, "Yeah, I think I noticed a flaw in my plan. Huh, let's just skip to the end."

"Yeah, maybe we should just skip to the vows."

Hekapoo cleared her throat, "Marco, my champion, the father of my daughter, my friend, my soulmate, my rival, and my lover, you have no clue how much you mean to me. I have existed for a very long time, and I have known a lot of people. You stand above them all. Your very presence in my life has made a difference that I didn't imagine was possible. For so very long I felt alone, even amongst others. It felt like that loneliness would sometimes crush me, but since I met you, that weight has lightened, and now standing here with you amongst our friends and family I don't even notice it. I love you in a way that I never imagined was possible," she glanced at their daughter "you've brought so much joy and many wonders into my life that I can't put into words how grateful I am. All I can do is spend the rest of our lives to try to give you a fraction of the joy you've given me. I love you Marco Diaz, and I always will."

Lekmet turned to Marco as if to say it was his turn.

Marco smiled. He wasn't sure about what he was going to say, but now standing in front of everyone he knew, "My H-poo. When I met you, I didn't think I'd spend the next 16 years chasing you for some scissors, but I'm glad I did. Because I wasn't spending those years looking for some piece metal, I was looking for this wonderful woman that would steal my heart. Well, I'm here to tell you that you didn't have to steal it. I'm giving it to you. You showed me who I could be and everything I could do. I'm not sure when I fell in love with you, but I did. And I think deep down I've known it for a long time. Now we're here together and are going to start our lives with our daughter, and I couldn't be happier. You've made me so happy, and I don't want it to end." He gave her hand a squeeze, "Hekapoo, I give you everything I am and everything I could ever be. I love you, and I can't wait to make a life with you and our daughter."

There was a general "Aww" from the well wishers.

Jackie took a deep breath and did everything she could to smile, but paused when she heard a something from her side. Janna stifling a sob, as tears threaten to escape her eyes. Jackie reached over and took her hand, "They're happy, and that is good, you know."

Janna wiped away a tear, "Yeah, I guess. Doesn't really make this easier."

"Baw!" Lekmet let out.

Nachos moved over holding out the pillow on her head, and the two rings made by Rhombulus glimmered.

The pair took hold of them and looked at each other.

Marco took her hand a pulled off the glove and slowly placed the ring on her finger, "With this ring I, Marco Ubaldo Diaz, take Hekapoo, Forger of the Dimensional Scissors, as my wedded wife to hold, to cherish, and to love as long as long we both shall live."

"Are you sure?" Hekapoo whispered.

"I-"

"I OBJECT!"

Everyone looked not at the couple but the source of the objection.

Star was standing there with her wand in hand, a firm grasp on it.

"Star, don't." Jackie tried to call her off.

"I think you missed the objection part," Janna added, "but I'm not sure what the old goat was saying."

"You just lost the bet, Sabrina." Brittney snickered.

The crowd of well wishers started to murmur amongst themselves.

"Star? What?" Marco tried talk to his friend, but he was cut off.

"Parasitis revelo!" Star let out.

A magical blast shot out from the wand striking both of them; they quickly tumbled to the ground.

"Mom! Dad!" Seraph yelled out running to their side; her grandparents following her lead.

"Star!" River yelled out, as did many others who were outraged and shocked by her actions.

"Star, that is really too much." Tom yelled, "Why kill both of them? And you should really do something like that in private with less witnesses. Plus, in front of their kid?" Tom just shook his head.

That actually caused Star to do a double take. "Wait, let me explain."

She didn't get a chance as both Marco and Hekapoo bolted up to their feet like puppets being yanked up by their strings.

Both of them started to scratch at the back of their necks in a fervent panic. Then they just stopped, their arms falling to their sides limply with their eyes in a daze, and then dropped to the ground again.

Then two glowing specks popped off. The specs then grew wildly until they were the size of elephants, and now it was clear they weren't mere specs but bugs. They were large with hissing mandibles, a dark red color with strange black heart shaped marks all over their bodies. The two giant insects growled enraged and ravenous.

Seraph jumped in front of her family with her hands on fire ready to fight them off. Many of the other guests were ready to fight these now giant creatures as well.

 _ZAP. ZAP._

They were suddenly encased in crystals.

"Okay," Rhombulus stepped forward, "what's going on?"

"Get off my hand, block head."

Rhombulus realizing he stepped on Hekapoo's hand quickly stepped off.

"Sorry."

"Bah?" Lekmet looked over.

"Yeah, are you two going to get up?"

"Not anytime soon." Marco said face down on the ground.

Omni watched as Rafael and Angie helped them up and noted how many of the other guests were looking confused and dazed.

0000

A few moments later they had Marco and Hekapoo on the couch. They both looked like they hadn't slept in weeks, and it didn't help that they could barely move.

Star used the wand to shrink the crystallized bugs, and Moon held them out. "Love Bugs."

Moon told the commission, her husband, Marco's family, her daughter, Jackie, and Janna.

"It's a parasitic species. They infect their hosts in pairs. Each one picks one person and they start to manipulate their emotions and hearts making them act like they are in love. Mature love bugs use positive emotions, namely love, to make it easier for them to drain their hosts of their life force. Eventually into the zenith of their romance, the Love Bugs would lay their eggs, and they would hatch and eat their way out of their hosts. I'm assuming after the wedding they would lay the eggs which would then proceed to hatch and infect the guests."

Those in the room looked on in horror as they all realized they had gotten close to seeing Marco and Hekapoo eaten alive before them.

"Tell them the other thing," Star nudged her mother.

"Yes, well, I noticed it when River started acting strangely. He'd been upset all morning about something, and then he suddenly started to act like he'd never been happier."

River shifted uncomfortably.

"By the way," Moon began, "what upset you?"

"Ah, well," River's eyes shifted around those around the room, "well, I'm not sure right now."

"Yes, from what I've read that can be a side effect." The queen cleared her throat, "I remembered a strange ability the Love Bugs have when they have hosts and begin to manipulate them. They begin to emit a magical pheromone. It makes people giddy, more accepting, and encouraging of any courtship rituals a pair of hosts might take, even if they become erratic or act out of character."

"Yeah, but that doesn't really work on magic users." Star pointed at herself.

"Which reminds me," Moon turned to the commission, "why did you all fall for it? Omni you weren't even in the room; you have to be in the general vicinity to have it take effect."

Omni had phased his head into the room and now wished he hadn't, "Well … we just sort of got carried away … I mean Hekapoo was getting married. She was so happy. She was glowing … It was just so exciting."

"Okay." Moon said deadpanned. She wasn't going to get into how the group that dealt with magical threats failed to see one of their own was bewitched. "Rhombulus please take the crystals." she handed them over to him, "The odd thing is this creature was supposed to have gone extinct ages ago. I just barely remembered them because they were mentioned in a passage in the spell book my Mother once showed me."

Moon paused for a moment, glancing over to River, and remembered when she asked her mother to help her find spell to help her decide which boy she liked. Her mother had calmly showed her some love spells and what troubles they could cause. She had promised her mother that she'd find her love on her own. She smiled.

Rhombulus fiddled as he used the new crystals to replace the twins.

"Are they going to be okay?" Angie asked the Queen.

Moon reassured her, "Yes, they just need some food and time to recover."

"Are you alright?" Moon questioned her hosts.

Rafael nodded, "Just very confused"

"That will pass. The pheromones are gone, and you can reclaim your faculties. Some memory loss, confusion, and twitching are all expected."

Seraph look at her parent, "Do you guys remember anything?"

They shook their heads meekly, and Marco said, "Everything after the hydra is a blur."

Angie smiled weakly, "We'll leave you to rest, and I'll bring over some food soon."

Hekapoo tried to move, but found she lacked the strength to, "We'll be right here."

They all began to leave. Soon the room was empty except for those two.

After a moment, Hekapoo broke the silence, "So how much do you really remember?"

"All of it"

"Me too"

A very awkward silence filled the room.

0000

"Well, things are wrapping up," Star surmised, "I wanna get out of this dress."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly feeling this." Jackie added.

"I'm sure I've got something in my room that you can borrow if you want to change now."

"Before you go," Moon began, "I wanted to say I'm very proud of you girls."

"Thank you Queen Butterfly." Jackie wasn't sure why, but it was nice to get a compliment from a queen.

"We totally deserve it but what for?" Janna asked.

"Well, the Love Bug's pheromone magic hasn't affected the three of you. Even with Star's magic protecting her, she's been around Marco this whole time. That kind of exposure should have affected her as well, and she'd be like everyone else."

"Huh?" Janna asked, "Then why weren't we affected?" She's just barely realized they never bothered to ask.

"Isn't it obvious?" Moon smiled at the three teens, "You are level headed. While everyone else had their minds clouded by false emotions, you kept calm and rational, saw your friend was in trouble, and tried to help. I'm very proud that you'd manage to stay so clear minded."

"Ah, thanks Mom." Star smiled truly for the first time in days.

"The only other people who could fight off the effects are people consumed with negative emotions."

The girls blinked; Jackie asking, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, people who are filled with nothing but negative emotions. Hatred, greed, jealousy, envy, doubt, anger, the very emotions that make it difficult for people to recognize love in the first place." Moon waved her hand, "Look at me talking your ears off like this. You should go ahead and change."

Moon walked off leaving the girls alone.

They all recalled a fourth person who was unaffected by the pheromones: Brittney.

The cheerleader was mean spirited, angry, and jealous of anyone who took away her attention. Even Marco had pointed out she might have a negative outlook on herself.

And for the last few days, their own emotions put them on her level.

It was a sobering thought.

0000

In the backyard, most of the guests were very confused. Many found their memories were somewhat blurred. Other guests, who had magic and not all that much exposure to Hekapoo or Marco, explained things to some extent. But no one really cared; a party was breaking out. After all, there was food and DJ Jump-Jump, who didn't do refunds.

At the moment, Pony Head was having a dance battle against Solusod Corruptor of Souls and was loosing. That demon knew how to break dance and damn if he couldn't do the worm. While the dance battle continued, most of the guests watched. In the meantime, Angie and Rafael were gathering food on some plates.

"You know," Angie smiled, "it's really a shame. I think Hekapoo would have made a wonderful daughter in law."

"Yes," Rafael as he took his wife's hand, "I agree, maybe when they come to terms with everything."

The breeze picked up, and the hydra cloaks they had been wearing wafted a bit behind them.

0000

Star, Jackie, and Janna walked down the hall to Star's room.

They didn't much speak of their shared revelation.

Star broke the silence, "We-we helped them. They were going into a marriage forced by bugs."

"Yeah, and they were going to be eaten by bugs." Janna added.

"Yeah, I mean this is for the best. Everyone is fine, everyone is safe, no one got hurt." Jackie announced.

They continued on until they heard sobbing, and it was coming from Seraph's room. The girls looked at each other before they pushed open the door. They found Seraph sitting on the floor crying. She wasn't crying to get attention because she was hurt. She was just crying because she couldn't stop.

Janna asked, "Seraph? You okay."

Seraph sobbed as she tried to restrain herself enough to talk, "Mom." Sob, "Dad."

The three girls looked at their crying friend and sat beside her.

"What's wrong?" Jackie said, worry entering her voice, "They're fine."

"But" Seraph sobbed, "They said after the wedding we'd be together; that we'd move in together," she sobbed, "that we'd get to be a family together."

"You wanted to move?" Star wondered out loud.

"… No…" Seraph let out, "I love it here. I love that I got to meet you all. I love that I got to be friends with you," Seraph let out another sob, "but I wanted to have my family."

The girls looked at their friend as tears streaked her cheeks, unable to speak.

"I wanted wake up every morning knowing my parents would be there. I wanted to have breakfast and lunches and dinners with them. All my life I've had one or the other. I just wanted to live with both of them."

As she cried out, they realized another thing together. Seraph was just a kid. Yes, she was a teenager, but she only had months of life. And like any small child, she just wanted to have parents there with her. They at least had years of family memories to draw on, but Seraph had a scant few moments with her parents, a fleeting few moments of feeling like she had a family.

All she wanted was that, to have her parent with her.

She got close to that, but now that pleasant illusion was ripped from her hands.

"I'm just so stupid." Seraph tried to wipe the tears away, "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing!" Janna shouted, "Don't you ever say that."

Seraph raised her head and to her shock found Janna wrapping her arms around her.

"But–"

"But nothing," Jackie joining in, hugging her, "your parents love you. No matter where they are, and even if they can't be with you all the time, they still love you and are your family."

Star felt guilty making her cry like this. She didn't mean to, and she didn't do so directly. Star also knew that in the end stopping everything was the right choice, but she couldn't stand to see her cry.

Since Seraph had arrived, Star had felt some darkness in the pit of her stomach, but seeing Seraph like this that melted away. She didn't deserve that kind of pain.

Star hugged her extra tight, "Seraph," she spoke softly.

The others turned to see Star. As far as they could remember that was the first time she managed to say Seraph's name correctly.

"Seraph, it's not your fault. It's just the way things are; sometimes things don't happen the way we'd want them to. But you still have family, there are plenty of people that love you. You don't have to cry."

"I can't stop." Seraph said actually trying to will herself to stop crying.

"That's fine," Star told her, "if you feel like crying, that's fine. We'll be right here for you."

"… Okay," Seraph let out meekly.

Seraph kept on crying, but they stayed with her until she felt like she could stop.

0000

Some time later, Seraph placed a painting on the wall. It was the portrait her grandparents had made of them only a short time ago. Seraph claimed it and now hung it in her room.

She sighed before she let herself fall into her bed. She positioned herself so she could look at the new addition to her room. She sat quietly alone with her thoughts, her thoughts of the what if.

0000

Hekapoo hung a portrait on her bedroom wall. She didn't think that they would mind since Angie and Rafael each made one.

She'd ask... but at the moment couldn't really find the courage to stand in front of any of them. She couldn't recall the last time she'd talk to Marco. They used to have regular calls even if just to check up on Seraph. Now she couldn't will herself to call.

Hekapoo laid down in bed as a glimmer on her nightstand caught her attention. She picked the item up; it was a ring. It was the ring that she was supposed to place on Marco's finger.

She raised the ring letting her thumb trace the outline of the ring. She merely whispers, "It could have been nice."

0000

Marco finished polishing his sword, content with his work he swung the blade, and it shrunk back into a pair of scissors. With weary movements, Marco placed the scissors on the nightstand by his head, right next to the picture of Hekapoo and baby Seraph. He paused for a moment looking at the picture. His eyes pulled away as he found the small ring.

He could still remember starting to place the ring on Hekapoo's finger.

He sighed as he fumbled with his hoodie. He yanked out from around his neck a small golden chain. He undid its clasp and slid the ring onto it, it made a small clink as it bumped into the fusions rings that Hekapoo gave him.

He fixed it up, placed it around his neck once more, and tucked it back into his shirt.

He got up, deciding to take Nachos for a ride.

0000

Angie entered her bed room. It was Rafael's turn to make dinner today, so she thought about taking a small nap before dinner, maybe read a good book, and just try and relax a little. She'd been terrified when she heard that a magical insect had spent days draining her son's life, but she was glad he was safe and everything seem to be going back to normal.

She stopped mid step as she found a small box on top her dresser. She quickly opened it up finding a pair of familiar earrings in it.

She frowned a little, "I guess you'll just have to wait a little longer."

0000

Ludo was waving his makeshift wand as he practiced the Levitato spell. Nearby Glossaryck ate some pudding as he watched him move stones.

Glossaryck paused; for the last few days he had been worried about the Commission or at the very least concerned. He had the strange feeling that they had gotten in some sort of trouble; he'd pushed the thought away though. After all they are ancient beings, they should be able to take care of things by themselves without him.

At the moment, he felt a chill creep down his spine.

He shrugged. They could handle anything that came their way; it's not like he could help even if he wanted to. He had a new student to teach.

0000

In the darkest corner of the multiverse, a yawn echoed.

"Nope. Nope. I thought another one had popped up. Doesn't seem to be the case though. And after sending those Love Bug infested Hydras to her dimension turned out to be a bust, I was hoping to find out something interesting."

While this dark figure poked around and searched, he'd hoped to hear of stories about the forger being eaten from the inside out. When it checked back in, he didn't hear any such rumors, just about some failed wedding.

"Hm, I should probably go back to sleep," But they paused, "Though since I'm up, I might as well check in on her and whichever idiot she almost married. Might be fun."

The dark figure stretched taking a step into the universe.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So yeah, that the end of the arc. Feel free to yell or whatever in the reviews. I do love hearing what you all think of my chapters. I'm working on the next chapter so hopefully I'll have it out soon.**

 **Now onto other business, I'm going to work on making the first two chapters of this fiction into an audio format. Anyone interested in auditioning for a role please go to my** tumblr **account** addude **and search for the post. If you cant find it send me a PM and I'll send you a link for all the information. I can't put it this because address to work here. Put at least try searching! I'm lazy and I will forget to reply back with the link if it happens a lot.**

 **Also special note that my former beta ideagenerator has written then own fic Frayed threads, go check it out.**

 **Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you guys think.** Yes **reviews sustain me. That and your tears. Reviews and tears.**


	18. Chapter 18: Let's Dance

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs the Forces of Evil**

* * *

Chapter 18: Let's Dance

"And so to help replace all the destroyed sport equipment, we are having A Night Under the Stars Dance/Festival." Principal Skeeves announced over the intercom. "Marco Diaz. Seraph Diaz. Janna Ordiana. I expect the three of you to buy tickets. Lots of tickets."

Marco glared at Janna who just smirked and shrugged.

0000

A few days ago Janna had noted that Seraph was still upset about everything that happened at the wedding. She had decided to cheer up the hybrid.

Janna had known that all of the sports teams wanted to recruit Seraph because of her physical skills, but Seraph wasn't all that interested in joining any team. She'd rather go home and ride Nachos, spar with her dad, or get a visit from her mom.

But she also knew that Seraph loved seeing a good fight. Seraph told her all about all the fights she saw at the Battle Nexus Tournament. So Janna told all the sports teams that there was a way to get Seraph to join them by impressing her.

After school with all the teams gathered at the football field, Janna and Seraph sat on the bleachers.

They had snacks ready when Janna yelled out, "Go!"

The teams charged at each other with makeshift maces and flails made from balls and helmets, and a gladiatorial battle began as each team fought each other for dominance while Seraph and Janna sat watching like Roman Empresses.

None of the teams really hurt each other. They brought all the safety equipment they had. They kinda tired each other out but did end up breaking just about everything.

Seraph was cheered up by it all.

Principal Skeeves found out. His anger was focused on Janna. He was kinda hoping to get Seraph on any of the teams because having a winning team would certainly help the school reputation without him having to do anything.

Still though. Since all the teams went along with it and Janna never openly said they should fight each other just implied it, he couldn't punish her more than a few more detentions.

In any case, it left them with an entire school's worth of damaged sports equipment.

0000

Brittney got up in front of the class, "The Cheer Squad has been spearheading the fundraiser to replace all of the sports equipment. Friday night will be the big event. There will be a dance with a live bad and food stands with food provided by local restaurants. There will be games and actives you can try for a few tickets and prizes. Remember you can buy tickets to get in and use from any of the cheerleaders or at the school store." Brittney glared at Marco.

"What?" Marco yelled.

"Diaz, everyone knows this is a result of your daughter. You have to buy tickets."

"Janna was the one who did everything."

"Just cover me Marco." Janna leaned back in her chair.

"Just do it." Brittney ordered, "We know she's just going to steal your wallet to pay for any ticket we make her buy, so just buy it and cut out the middle man."

"Fine, I'll buy tickets for me and Janna."

"Oh! Me too Dad!" Seraph smiled, "I've never been to a dance."

"Fine three tickets." Marco started to take out his wallet.

"Buy one for me too!" Star waved her hand, "I love dances!"

Marco repressed a groan, "Four."

"Oh, you are buying more than that." Brittney growled.

Marco had faced monsters, demons, things that gave people nightmares, but suddenly he found himself intimidated by a cheerleader.

0000

Marco found himself later that day at home just slumped into a chair. Brittney had gotten him to buy over a dozen tickets. He didn't even have plans to go to the dance in the first place. It just seemed too weird. People were expected to partner up, and he had no idea of who he would dance with.

After all, his most memorable dances involved someone specific.

He glanced over to where Seraph was talking to Star, Janna, and Jackie. Since Marco had those extra tickets, he decided to give them some. They were arranging when to meet and head out to the dance together. He could already tell Seraph would want him to come along, and as much he didn't want to be one of those parents, he knew he couldn't say no to his little girl.

And they did have fun at the Bounce lounge. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

The hair at the back his head prickled, and a red portal formed in the middle of the room. Out came Hekapoo stumbling out with a large brown box.

"Seraph! A little help!"

One of the laser puppies yelped at her feet. To avoid squashing the little pet, Hekapoo shifted her feet at the last moment but that caused her to fall backwards.

Marco jumped up and caught her quickly.

"You okay Mom?" Seraph quickly pulled away the box and placed it on the coffee table.

"I'm good." Hekapoo said as she found herself looking into Marco's eyes.

A blush quickly forming on their cheeks. Both pulled away.

"Huh," Hekapoo began, "the rest of the commission gave me some treats that they wanted to bring you."

"Yay! My uncles sent me treats."

"… Uncles huh?" Hekapoo sighed. She never told Seraph too much about them, but apparently they meet during the wedding mess. She'd taken to calling them Uncles. She could see where Seraph was coming from but… it still made her a bit uneasy.

"I love you sweetie." Hekapoo focused on her daughter, "And I'd love to spend time with you, but I've got things I have to do." She said glancing at Marco.

Everyone in the room saw it. Both of them were awkward, and they all knew the wedding must be responsible for that.

"Mom," Seraph's voice paused the ancient being, "there something I want to ask you."

Hekapoo turned to see Seraph pick up a ticket, "There's going to be this thing at school. A dance and festival with food and stuff. It's going to be fun. Do you want to come along?"

"I —" Hekapoo started, but paused as she looked into her daughter giving her the puppy dog eyes.

She was one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, but this girl of less than a year old somehow made her feel so weak.

She wanted to say no.

"Yeah, come along," Jackie off all people spoke up placing a hand on Seraph's shoulder, "it will be fun."

Hekapoo blinked. She wouldn't have expected Jackie to do that. It just made it harder to say no now, "I mean… I guess, if no one…" She glanced over at Marco.

"Well,… yeah… It should be fun."

"SO DOES THAT MEAN YOU'LL COME?!" Seraph yelled out startling everyone.

Hekapoo's expression softened and let out a small chuckle, "Sure, I'd love to."

Janna shook her head; Seraph had everyone in the room under her thumb. Her parents couldn't say no to her, and Star, Janna, and Jackie after seeing her cry were trying to just make her happy to make up for it.

She could just ask for anything, and they'd probably do it.

Seraph gave her the details they just hashed out, when to meet and everything. A hesitant Hekapoo agreed, "Okay, I'll see you then."

As Hekapoo stepped back into the portal, she gave one final glance to Marco.

Marco sighed, letting out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding in. His face feeling much more flush then it should have. He smiled though seeing how happy Seraph was.

"Going to the dance~ Going to dance~" Seraph sang to herself as she dance to a tune only she heard.

Angie took this chance to walk in, she smiled at her delighted granddaughter.

"Dance?" Angie quirked at that, and they explained the situations.

"So you're going to a dance with your parents?" Angie chuckled, noting that most teens would hate the idea of their parents being at the same dance as them.

"Hm," Star mused, "do you have anything like a dance dress?"

"I guess I don't." Seraph admitted, she had gotten a lot of clothes from her shopping trip with Star but nothing really dance worthy.

As she thought this over, she paused as she watched her friend looking past her with a peculiar look.

She turned around to find her father looking rather annoyed and her grandmother's eyes sparkling.

"DRESS SHOPPING!"

And that was when Seraph realized she got that excited scream from her grandmother.

Marco couldn't hold back a groan as Angie gave Seraph a great big hug. "Dress shopping. I love shopping, and I always wanted to help him pick out some clothes, but Marco has always been so picky when shopping. And he always get the same thing."

"I like my red hoodies, and I hate picking out what to wear." Marco shot back.

"But you're not like that?"Angie practically pleaded.

"I guess not."

Angie smiled, experiencing one of the true joys of being a grandmother. Shopping and spoiling her granddaughter. "Let's go right now. We can go find you a beautiful dress."

"Yeah —" Seraph was already being pulled out of the door.

Marco blinked as he heard the car screech away, "Ah, okay. It's a school night; get her back to do her homework."

The three girls looked at Marco as if asking if he had really said that.

0000

The day of the dance had come, and Marco was getting ready in his room. He was not a person who had an easy time picking out his clothes. Marco liked to keep it simple, so he didn't really have a lot of fancy dress clothes.

That's why when he was getting ready he knew what to put on, but as he looked at it he hesitated. It was the same outfit he wore on his date with Jackie. He thought it would make things awkward and bring up to make memories for Jackie… and himself.

He had some nice black slacks and fresh dress shirt, but he didn't think it would be enough.

As he was rifling through his closet, there was a gentle knock on the door.

He turned around and was greeted by his daughter in a simple orange dress with a bow on the back.

Marco couldn't help but smile at how beautiful his daughter looked.

"Hey Dad." Seraph smiled right back at him. "When Grandma and I were shopping, I saw something and thought it suited you."

Seraph held out a silk red tie.

Marco smiled, "You gave me a tie."

"Yeah."

Marco whimpered.

"Ah, Dad, are you okay?"

"It's a Dad gift, my first Dad gift."

"So, you like it?"

"I love it." Marco placed an arm around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Seraph gushed, "Aw, Dad."

Marco patted her on the head right between the horns, a sign of affection Seraph adored and made her feel like a little kid.

Which she kinda was.

Marco wasted no time and put it on. He kept it lose, finding it easier to tie that way.

He stopped to look himself in the mirror, "So, does this work?"

"You look good, but aren't you supposed to wear a jacket?"

"Yeah," Marco looked to the side, "Well, I'm just not feeling the one I have."

An idea struck Seraph, and she rushed into the closet rummaging for something. Finally she pulled out something. "How's this? I think this could work."

0000

Seraph scurried down the flight of stairs, "Dad is just finishing up; he'll be done in a minute."

Seraph smiled to her friends, Star, Janna, Jackie, and Starfan.

Since the whole quest for the rings, Starfan and Seraph had actually become pretty good friends. Starfan was helping Seraph on some of her craft projects, and they often just hang out sharing stories and talking about boy-bands and things.

Starfan had on a purple dress she'd added wings to. Star wore a glittery pink dress. Jackie went with a blue dress, nothing as fancy or eye catching as the one she took on the last dance but nice either way. Janna, well, Jackie and Star had to twist her arm to put on a black dress for the dance. Though mostly it was Seraph's prodding that they should all look nice.

She still kept her beanie.

Janna just wasn't one to get dressed up like this; it pushed her a bit out of her comfort zone.

"Don't you all look nice." Angie walked over with Rafael by her side.

Star had been looking forwards to this. It would just be nice to spend sometimes with friends and have fun.

The skin on the back of Seraph's neck seemed to prickle and a portal formed.

Stepping out of it was Hekapoo. Star noticed something the swagger and confidence she'd always seen in Hekapoo was gone. This Hekapoo seemed hesitant and maybe a little shy.

Star took a moment to look at Hekapoo, her hair was freshly done. She had on a new pair of ruby red heels and was wearing a stylish black dress with a red silk sash around her waist.

"Mom!" Seraph ran up to her and hugged her.

"Hey sweetie," Hekapoo instantly smiled.

Star did envy that about them, how just seeing each other would make them smile. She'd hope that she'd have someone like that in her life.

"Don't you look lovely." Angie walked over with Rafael by her side.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Hekapoo said nervously.

Since the wedding thing, she'd had a hard time knowing how to act around Marco, and before that she barely knew how to act around his parents.

The way they smiled, the sheer kindness she saw in their eyes, she didn't know how to deal with it. She'd expect them to ignore her and just think of her as the mother of their granddaughter and nothing more.

The sound of the stair steps creaking under someone's weight stirred her out of her thoughts.

"Hey," Marco said mustering up a smile.

"Hey," Hekapoo greeted back, a smile finding its way to her face. "I like the jacket."

"You match," Star said in barely more than a whisper.

Marco had put on his black leather jacket and with his red tie; he did match with Hekapoo's current color scheme.

Marco reached the bottom of the steps and found himself looking into Hekapoo's eyes. Well, eye. Her bangs kept blocking the other one.

"You know something about this situation is awfully familiar." Janna mused out loud.

"Someone take a picture!" Rafael smiled waving his hand.

"Okay," Starfan took out her phone.

Before Marco could say anything, he found himself being pushed by his father right next to Hekapoo with his mother doing the same to Hekapoo.

"Say cheese!" Starfan told them.

Noticing how close they were, Hekapoo quickly grabbed Seraph pulling her in between them. Seraph smiled happily putting her arms around her parents.

Despite some awkwardness in the moment, they smiled taking their picture together.

Star fidgeted in her dress, "I think we should get going we don't want to be late."

"Right," Marco quickly agreed, "we should get going."

Marco paused as he heard a familiar purring. Nachos rolled up to them nuzzling up to Hekapoo.

"Hey girl." Hekapoo patted the mount.

"It looks like Nachos wants you two to ride her." Seraph told her parents. "It's been a while since she's gotten to give you both a lift."

Nachos gave them puppy dog eyes.

Hekapoo just gave her a sad smile, "Yeah, it's been a while."

Seraph pulled out her own pair of scissors creating a tear, "I can take everyone else to the school. Why don't you two share a ride."

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea." Angie quickly agreed, "Nachos must miss Hekapoo, and she does get fussy when she doesn't get enough exercise."

"Yeah do that!" Seraph said as she started shoving her friend into the portal.

Soon as they were on the other side of the portal Seraph stepped in, "Okay see you there."

"Ah, I guess, we should get going."

A few moments later they were on the sidewalk as Marco put on his helmet. He quickly handed Hekapoo Seraph's helmet.

"What's with the helmet?"

"It's just in case."

"Come on Marco, you rode on Nachos for years without a helmet."

"Because there nowhere to get one. I know Nachos will do everything she can to prevent an accident, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"I guess, but I'm immortal and super durable. I don't need one."

"Put it on. You don't want to set a bad example for Seraph."

Hekapoo huffed before trading her tiara for the helmet. Hesitantly, she climbed on Nachos sitting right behind Marco.

"Hang on."

Hekapoo scouted closer and wrapped her arm around Marco's waist, just to make sure she didn't fall off.

Nachos let out a roar as she pulled away from the house and moved swiftly through the road.

Hekapoo found herself squeezing Marco a little tighter, a smile finding its way to her face. She looked up to the full moon, "Hey, do you remember the last dance we went to together?"

Marco felt his face grow warm; he told himself it was because of Hekapoo's own heat.

"Yeah, at… that wedding… the Vampire wedding."

"The Sacred Moon Wedding."

0000

It was during the latter half of his trial, Marco camped out for the night in the outskirts of a forest. He made a small campfire while Nachos rested. Marco quickly hunted some small creatures that seemed to be a mix of raccoons and rabbits. He cooked them up and started sharing his meal with his loyal dragon.

He looked up and saw a beautiful full moon hanging over head. As he finished up his meal, he found himself staring at the moon.

His mind wandering back to his life, to thinking about his family, friends, and to Star. He wondered where they were and how they were doing. He'd often thought about asking Hekapoo to leave a message for him. Just to let Star know he was alive and to contact his family, but after all this time, he felt foolish for having nothing to show for it.

He couldn't make himself contact them until he had something to show them.

As he continued to look at the moon his mind drifted to Hekapoo, it been a while since he caught a clue of Hekapoo or her clones. He found himself missing her.

As if his wish was being granted, a flame roared into the night sky, and Hekapoo walked out of the forest. She quickly was beside them petting the dragon's head.

"Hey," She smiled, "How's the hunt going? Oh, right, you're nowhere near any of my clones."

"Hey Hekapoo, did you just come by to tease me?"

"Well, I do love to tease you and get a reaction from you," Hekapoo said softly letting her finger dance on Marco's abs, "some of those reactions are really something." She pulled back, "But today I'm here for business."

"Need help?"

Hekapoo glared at him, "No, but maybe you want to get one of my clones. Same deals, help me out with a little mission I'll let you blow out one of the my clones."

Marco paused. Sometimes Hekapoo would ask for his help in turn for one of her clones, but it didn't mean it would be easier then tracking one down. Most of these missions would be extremely tough.

"What do you need, H-poo?"

"I need you to be my date."

"Wait, what?"

"Have you noticed any people around here? Like anywhere near here? Villages or towns or anything?"

"Now that you mention it I haven't. I found a few ghost towns but that's about it."

"A little while ago they were filled with people and full of life. We've got vampires."

"Blood suckers?"

"A few days ago a bunch came in and took everyone. I've got a clone keeping track of them. They want to conquer my dimension and are willing to kill everyone who gets in their path or just for lunch."

"And the date?"

"Oh, feeling pent up? Well if it goes well maybe we can —"

"Hekapoo." Marco scolded.

"Fine, down to business. My clone found out they are having a wedding tonight. The vampires are basically two clans with a couple of strays. They're composed of two clans with one of them lead by a very powerful type of vampire called a Vampire Lord. Since a vampire lord is powerful enough on their own, they don't exactly trust him. That's where this marriage comes in."

"A union to solidify their pact?"

"Sort of, it's some sort of magical moon ritual. I don't know the details. I never could follow magical binding love stuff. That's Limerence stuff. Anyway, the scoop is that when two people are bound together in the wedding ritual, they not only bind each other but multiply their power together. If that happens, their leader will become ultra powerful and have a huge army of loyal vampires."

"Yeah that sounds bad."

"Yeah, the wedding is going to happen tonight. But they are letting any vampire willing to join up to attend."

"So you want to pretend to be vampires and sneak in and slay the leader before the ritual can happen."

"Well, I'm going as a vampire; you're going to be my thrall play thing."

"You want me to be your Renfield."

"I have no idea what that means."

"Basically your servant, takes care of your needs, protects you during the day, and just wishes to be turned into a vampire."

"That's about right. So wanna be my date?"

Marco pondered it. It sounded dangerous facing an army of vampires and sneaking in right beneath their noses. But of course, they needed to be stopped. Plus it sounded fun.

"I'd be honored."

"Good. First up," She jumped up and tore opened a portal. "Let's get you cleaned up, we're going to a wedding."

0000

Marco did enjoy getting a bath. A life on the road didn't give him a lot of chances to enjoy such things.

Marco walked into the forge wearing a black bathrobe he'd found. He found Nachos napping by the forges flames.

"Hekapoo! Where are you?"

"Over here." Hekapoo walked into the room wearing a long, form fitting black dress whose skirt dragged on the floor. She was putting on a pair of ruby red earrings.

Marco couldn't help but think she looked stunning.

"You look stunning." Marco also couldn't help but say it out loud.

Hekapoo smiled, "Well, flattery will get you nowhere lover boy. Time to get dressed."

"Yeah, where my clothes."

Marco felt a shiver go down his spine after seeing the way Hekapoo smiled at him.

A moment later he found out why.

His comfy pants were exchanged for a pair of leather pants and his hoodie discarded and replaced by a necklace with a long chain.

"Is this an actual mission or one of your games? Because if you just want to try some new things —"

"Servant! These evil vampires won't bother to look at you twice if they think you're my boy toy. They do have certain rules. They can't eat each other's servants. It's just very rude."

"And what about you? You've got fangs, but I doubt they'd think you're a vampire."

Hekapoo pulled out a necklace with a red gem, "It's a glamor, I put it on and—" Hekapoo slipped on the necklace, "there."

Hekapoo's horns vanished and her hair turned pitch black and her eyes red.

"Come on boy toy. Time to crash a wedding and kill the bride and groom and all the guests."

Hekapoo cut open a tear in space and held out her hand.

Marco reached over for his sword but was stopped by Hekapoo. "Sorry no weapons. Who brings weapons to a wedding. You're going to have to rely on your judo mind tricks."

Marco chuckled, "Okay, Mistress, " He took her arm, "let's go. I really want to get out of these pants."

"Oh! Aren't you eager?"

"They are really tight."

"I know it."

They stepped into the portal.

0000

With a roar Nachos stopped at the front of the school, it nudged them out of their memories.

"I guess we're here." Marco mused as he went to park Nachos.

They hopped off the dragon and made their way to the entrance. Marco paused just long enough to remind Nachos not to wander off.

It was a short walk towards the entrance and a quiet one at that. The wedding had done what battles and life hadn't. It had created a barrier between them. Every time Marco tried to say something when they were alone the words died in this throat.

He hated it. Even if not for himself, he had to make sure he and Hekapoo had a good relationship for Seraph's sake.

Marco mustered up his courage, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"This.. all of this. I'm sorry it's so weird between us."

Hekapoo shook her head, "It's not your fault. It's more my fault that I asked for your help dealing with those hydra. If I hadn't done that, we wouldn't have been infected by mind altering bugs." She scratched her head, "Maybe I shouldn't ask for your help so much."

"We make a good team."

"I guess we do, but I still shouldn't ask for your help so much. You're a human. You shouldn't be put on stuff that could kill you so easily."

"Hekapoo, I remember the Sacred Moon Wedding too. You know I can handle myself, and neither you or I alone could have stopped them. I'm proud of what we've done together. I value what we have and don't want to see it go away."

"I don't either."

"Mom! Dad!" Seraph waved from the school entrance.

Both parents smiled softly as they finished their walk.

"What are you doing waiting for us?" Hekapoo greeted her daughter.

"Someone shoved us into a portal without getting our tickets from her dad." Janna turned to look at Seraph.

Sheepishly Seraph grinned, "Yeah…"

Marco opened up his jacket to find a stack of tickets. They reached the entrance where Ms. Skullnick collected the tickets; the teacher paused and looked at Hekapoo. "Your Seraph's mother, right?"

"Yeah?" Hekapoo looked her over.

"You have a very gifted daughter. I don't think I have ever had a student to take to math so easily. You should be very proud of her."

Hekapoo blushed looking to find her daughter beaming, "Uh, thanks."

They started to walk in when Marco was pulled back by Ms. Skullnick, "Mister Diaz."

"Uh, yeah?" Marco asked.

"You on a date with your ex?"

"Uh, what? Me and Hekapoo aren't— I mean— Seraph invited her and—"

"Yeah, save it. Just keep it PG."

Marco blushed, "Right," he walked away to catch up with the others.

Hekapoo asked, "Yeah, why do you have a troll as a teacher?"

"Long story…"

As Ms. Skullnick continued to collect tickets, she failed to notice that one of the students had an extra shadow or that the shadow split off and crept along the floor on its own. The shadow crawled onto a wall, and a pair of glowing eyes formed on its face.

"So this is where Hekapoo is? What is she doing on this backwoods planet?" A sliver of a smile formed on the shadows empty face, "Well I can at least have some fun. Maybe see what's so interesting about that boy."

The shadow slipped away as it prepared to it's plans.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hi, so it's a been a while since while since i updated. If you've read some of my other stories you might know that recently my grandmother passed away. It's affected me a little, I haven't really managed to get in the flow of working on my stories. I've tried to push through my writing but little effort. In the end my beta has been helping finish this chapter. I wanted to say, I do feel better and i've started the next chapter. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter soon.**

 **In the meantime I am still working on the audio version. We didn't fill up the roles so if anyone if you are interested in auditioning please send me a PM and I'll send you the link to the details.**

 **Otherwise please leave a review telling me what you guys think.**


	19. Chapter 19: The Time of Disaster

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

Chapter 19: The Time of Disaster

An orange portal opened onto a stone path carved into a cliffside. Hekapoo and Marco walked out into the cold night air and followed the path up onto the cliff where an ancient temple stood overlooking a calm lake. Marco immediately noticed that the temple had this strange red tint to it. It was the light coming through the crimson stained windows. He didn't know if this held some significance for vampires or just set the mood.

Marco didn't know much about vampires, but he had run into a savage, almost beast like, vampire a while back. It had got itself cornered and trapped in a graveyard then buried alive, or undead as the case may be. When it finally got out, it was crazy, stupid, and savagely hungry. It couldn't plan for a damn or figure out what was a trap or not.

Honestly, Marco got lucky with that one and took care of it quickly.

This was something else though. The temple was filled with every variation of vampire he could imagine and many he didn't have the imagination for. If he ever got back to Earth, Marco was sure that Janna would be jealous of him being here.

Marco took a breath as he stayed close to Hekapoo as they walked amongst them. Before he knew it, Hekapoo took his hand in her's and gave it a good squeeze.

"Brothers. Sisters." A dark haired man in front of an alter spoke, his voice commanding attention and respect without so much as raising his tone. All ceased their conversations and looked toward his tall pale figure.

"I welcome you all, and I know that I speak for myself and my bride in saying thank you for being here. Tonight with the Sacred Blood Moon we will bind one another in an inescapable bond, and in doing so we hope to join all of us together. To gather all the factions and clans together under a single banner." He paused for effect, "Long have we been banished to the darkness, to the recesses of every world, hunted and slaughtered when we should reign supreme. Tonight we take the first step towards our glorious conquest. Together we will be a force like none other. We shall topple the Magical High Commission, Axolotl, The Diamond Kingdom, The Curator of Secrets and his Guardians, the Bringer of Darkness, The Seventh Abyss, and anyone else who's foolish enough to stand in our way."

The crowd cheered, and Marco felt Hekapoo squeeze his hand harder. Concerned, Marco asked, "Are you okay?"

"That guy. He's a vampire from the Land of Shadow and Light, a Vampire Lord."

"And that means?"

"He's super powerful Marco, like dangerously powerful."

0000

As they walked into the school, Marco failed to notice people turning their gazes at his little group.

Many of them had seen Hekapoo's picture from Janna's little business earlier in the year. They all realized she wasn't human just from looking at Seraph, but many still gazed at Hekapoo. Marco wasn't sure why, but it bothered him for some reason. Though he was sort of used to it. They did go out to some places together during his trial, and many people did turn to her then as well. Besides her unique appearance, some parts of her dimension thought of her as a goddess or a legend or just gorgeous.

Hekapoo actually took him to taverns. Often just because some guy would always try and hit on her, and she'd always have Marco knock them out when they refused to leave.

Marco would have been more upset about that, but a lot of those guys who wouldn't take no for an answer were jerks and had a beating coming.

And as fun as it was, he didn't want to bring up those stories with Seraph. There were just some stories he didn't think they should tell Seraph.

As they walked into the school, Marco asked, "So, what do you want to do first?"

"Food." Hekapoo spoke up as she sniffed the air.

Marco chuckled a little to himself, "Yeah, I should have figured you'd notice them. I had heard they would have bacon dogs here."

They went over to a small food stand where they were cooking hot dogs.

Marco bought some for the group.

Star chomped on her food, "It's not as good as goblin dogs but not bad, and a lot easier to get."

Hekapoo was not really paying attention as she quickly gobbled up the bacon wrapped hot dog.

Janna glanced over to Marco, "Huh, I'm really starting to see why you get along with her."

Marco sighed as he tried not to blush. Janna was about to continue those jokes but then spotted Seraph looking at her with a confused look.

Janna just went back to eating her snack. She would do a lot of stuff, but she wouldn't do that while Seraph was around. Seraph was so freaking innocent, and Janna wouldn't want to explain any of that to her.

"More please." Hekapoo beamed as she finished her hot dog.

After several bacon dogs, they managed to pull her away.

Jackie had to voice a question she had, "Ah, how much do you guys eat?" Jackie held up her hands, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, it's just you ate enough hot dogs to fill up most people. Is it a magic thing? I mean, I've seen Star eat enough for two people and-"

Hekapoo stopped her, "A little bit I guess," Hekapoo told her not taking any offense, "Most magic users tend to eat more than non-magic users. It's just a bit of biology. People who move more or work out a lot have a higher need for food because they burn through it faster. I know when Marco was muscly he ate a lot more." The girls glanced at Marco as he fiddled with his tie, but Hekapoo continued, "But yeah, I don't need to eat really, I mostly do it for kicks and just cause things are tasty."

"So where does-" Janna began,

"I can, but I burn through most of it pretty quick. I tend to draw my energy from my dimension."

"Wait, so Seraph doesn't need to eat?" Star questioned.

"I get hungry." Seraph glanced over to a calzone stand, "I'm pretty sure I need to eat."

Marco went over, bought her a calzone, and brought it back.

Hekapoo explained, "Seraph takes after Marco. She really does need food, even if she has magic she's not that different than Star that way. She probably needs a lot more food because she's grown so fast. Her body is technically still growing and her powers being fire based just helps her burn through it more so. I mean, she burns through a lot of food fast because of her flames."

Jackie guessed it made sense. A lot of teens had big appetites and with magic and her teen body she'd have to go through a lot of calories.

Seraph happily ate through her new snack, and between bites Marco used a napkin to wipe at the sauce on her face.

"You know I was hoping that you'd pick up table manners from your Dad." Hekapoo teased before she pointed at a spot Marco missed.

Seraph rolled her eyes. She didn't exactly like her parents doting on her like this, especially in front of her friends.

Star tried not to chuckle. It was kinda cute seeing Marco and Hekapoo being so parental.

"That! What's that?!" Seraph shouted.

"Oh!" Marco looked over to a game booth.

Marco didn't even get a chance to speak as Seraph was already moving over to the booth.

"It's a game booth." Marco took a second to look it over, "You pay the guy, and he gives you a couple of balls. Then you use them to knock down the bottles, and depending how many you get you win a prize."

Seraph frowned for a moment. Her aim was pretty bad. Unless it was a giant, she tended to miss, "Can you win one?"

"I guess I can." Marco grabbed some money from his pocket and put it down.

Like hell he was going to let down his little girl.

Hekapoo followed behind them close and smiled; she knew what he was up to. Marco could never ignore a challenge.

0000

It was a little weird to have Hekapoo pull him around by a chain. They had to mingle and see what information they could gather about the whole ritual.

Honestly, Marco thought she might be enjoying it.

Though playing the role of a servant had some advantages, one being that the vampires didn't bother to pay attention to him.

Hekapoo mingled and tried to find out more. After a while, they traded notes.

"My Lady," Marco brought over a drink

Hekapoo huffed and took the drink, "About time."

Marco whispered, "You're taking this a bit far, don't you think?"

She smirked, "What? I thought you liked roleplaying."

"Did you find out anything?"

"Not much, vampires are so dull. Not that I didn't know that. You get your lifespan expanded, and you suddenly think your all powerful."

"Yeah, I noticed that. Immortals have that bad habit."

Hekapoo rolled her eyes and decided to ignore that comment.

"I talked to the thralls and servants." Marco told her, "The ritual is some sort of soul binding. Using the power of a moon god or eclipse or something. The main key is a demon, a very specific demon species that deals with souls."

"Meathead, most demons do stuff with souls."

"Yes, but these demons are called Soul Surgeons."

"The Soul Surgeons?" Hekapoo gasped.

"You've heard of them I take it."

"Ah, yeah, they can manipulate souls. Some legends even say they can manipulate their own inner world in their were feared for centuries, and then they vanished. Just centuries of torment and power and gone. Never really figured that one out. Some say they moved on to grander things or other planes. There were a few left wandering the Universe, but they didn't seem like tormentors. Most became hermits or got some jobs, or something. Frankly, most people couldn't tell they weren't just run of the mill demons."

"Yeah, well they have one and it sounds like they're forcing it to do this ritual. To reinforce the bond. Apparently whatever the ritual taps into picks things on its own, and they want to make sure it works."

"Hm, so if we can free this demon they won't be able to make the ritual work."

"That's easier said than done." Marco told her.

"No, I've figured that bit out. The groom and bride are both mingling with guests so why is there a guard over there."

Hekapoo pointed to the far end of the hall where a young looking vampire stood.

"You see the sword on his side?"

"What is that crystal?" Marco asked her,

"Never been sure, it's some sort of gem. That's a Luxor Sword. It's a pretty standard status symbol across all vampire species."

"I've never heard of it."

"Well, the few bottom dwelling vampires that made it to your dirty ball of a planet would never have been worthy enough for one of those." Hekapoo shrugged, "Though in all honesty there aren't that many vampires who'd earn one. The sword are only given to Vampire Knights, those who've proven themselves. The crystal collects light. It's supposed to be a symbol of how they overcame their major weakness, the sunlight. The swords are something else, very hard to come by ingredients and hard to make. The sword actually boosts the user powers and abilities."

"Neat!"

"Don't think of stealing it."

"I don't steal."

"Marco, the sword signifies they are fierce warrior vampires. If he thinks you're trying anything funny, he won't hesitate to run you through."

"Yeah, but we have to get through him."

Hekapoo shrugged, "Just stay out of it right now. We got to find the moment to move. We've got of be quick, take him, and get the demon out."

Hekapoo said it to keep Marco from charging and attacking.

"We just have to pick the moment."

0000

Hekapoo smiled to herself as Marco lined up his shot. Marco was actually doing pretty well with his targets.

Seraph had terrible aim, and he'd been working with her to improve it. A lot of the practice was just them playing catch. And Seraph's throwing was still off, but Marco had gotten much better.

Marco bit his lower lip and threw his final throw.

The bottles fell with a clatter, and Marco pumped his fist in victory.

"Congratulations! Grand prize!" The attendant at the booth shouted.

Marco usually didn't like these games, these tended to be rigged more often than not. But Seraph wanted him to win her something so he was going to try.

The attendant pulled out a large stuffed blue platypus giving it to Marco, "I thought platypuses were brown."

The guy shrugged, "Someone took creative liberties."

Marco turned to his smiling daughter ready to hand off the prize.

Seraph smiling shook her head, "I didn't want it for me. I wanted mom to have something."

Marco blushed at the realization that he'd just won a prize for Hekapoo. "Uh, well, okay. Here you go." He held out the plushy towards Hekapoo.

A blush forming on Hekapoo's cheeks as she grabbed it, "…Thanks."

Hekapoo gave the plush toy a squeeze.

Marco was unsure how he felt about suddenly giving a gift to Hekapoo like this, but she seemed happy and so did Seraph.

They were happy and he wasn't upset or anything. He was actually enjoying his time here. It was nice to just to be here with both of them.

Starfan ran up to Seraph, "Hey Seraph! Have you tried out cotton candy yet?"

"No, what is it?"

"It's my favorite candy! It's so soft and sweet!"

Seraph's eyes twinkled at the word sweet. "Yes! Let's get some!"

Starfan knew how much she loved sweets and grabbed her hand pulling her along towards the treat.

"Don't run!" Marco called after them, "Don't eat too much either!"

Hekapoo snickered, "I see your taking to fatherhood."

"What? She goes really fast, and if she trips she could hurt herself."

"Heh, I would say that it's something new, but you've always been a worry wart."

"No I haven't. "

"Blrrrt! Oh! Are you going to try that misunderstood bad boy line? You're a sweet guy, don't be embarrassed about it."

"But-"

"Quit harping about it. If you want to prove you're exciting, you already proved that over the last sixteen years."

"Well, thanks. It means a lot."

"Enough of that gushing stuff, let's have some fun!"

Hekapoo grabbed Marco's hand and pulled him along.

At a short distance Star, Janna, and Jackie kept their eyes on them. This whole situation was weird for them, but they wanted to give them some space. Since the wedding, they didn't know how to act around them. It didn't get past them that Seraph was trying to nudge them together.

It didn't take much for them to figure out that the girl just wanted them to have a family. They had all grown rather fond of the girl; she wasn't someone they wanted to upset.

0000

They were waiting for their moment, to have some sort of plan.

"Okay," Hekapoo said, "I think our best bet is for us to try and sneak in right before everything gets started. If this guy is a prisoner then I'm sure we can convince him to come with us. I'm going to try and find out when everything is going down." Hekapoo turned to Marco, "Okay, go outside to see if you can find a window or something and give him a heads up."

"Right, they should be ready to run. But won't the vampires see me?"

"No, Vampires don't tend to guard outside. I don't know why, I think it's a thing about not liking being outside during the day. Plus it's a party. I doubt anyone actually wants to be outside and miss it. Vampires are very inclusive about parties."

"Huh? You learn something new everyday."

Marco managed to get outside pretty easily; no one was guarding anything really. He was sure he found one guy who was supposed to be a guard but who was really drunk and making a pass at a girl.

He went around the building and found the window, for the vampires credit they had put up bars with spells crafted onto them.

Marco knocked on the window, "Hey! Hey!"

A grey skinned demon floated towards him. He looked at him curiously, "Human? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to rescue you."

The demon was stoic and slowly raised an eyebrow, "You are woefully out classed, there are countless vampire present."

"I noticed," Marco huffed, "I'm not alone, I brought Hekapoo."

"Hekapoo?"

"Yeah, she's sort of a friend-"

"A friend?" the demon look at him suspiciously,

"Well, it's complicated. I'm doing a trial, but we sort of hang out sometimes."

The demon's eyes focused on him, "Hm, you don't appear to be telling a lie."

"You can tell that?"

"My clan manipulates souls, we can see them and your soul reacts to your lies. Speak truthfully and we should have no trouble. What is your name, human?"

"I'm Marco and we are trying to stop this whole ritual."

"Yes, it is quite troubling."

"Yeah, how does that work anyway?"

"It would be difficult to explain. The power in the ritual invokes a strange and natural phenomena. No one truly understands it. Humans consider it a bad omen or a curse, demons of the Underworld see it as a sacred union, and the vampires see it a means for power."

"Power?"

"The soul is a sacred thing, beyond our universe and from a force we can never control. But in a more practical way of thinking the soul works as an engine, an engine that powers life. Some tap into souls to gain power."

"Wait, is that why there are all those legend of people losing souls to demons?"

The demon gave a small nod, "Yes, many demons gather more by gathering more souls. But in this case by binding two vampire souls, two immortal souls, they hope to feed on each other. Their immortal bodies will be able to deal with the strain much better than mortal forms. It will constantly draw power from each other's souls fueling them both physically and metaphysically."

"Okay, that doesn't sound good, but how bad would it be?"

"They would be like unkillable gods."

"Okay, okay, yeah, we really do have to stop them."

"You don't know the half of it. A strain like that will wear on their souls, corrupt them, and turn them towards a dark path."

"Uh, they're vampires aren't they already all dark."

"You misunderstand. Vampirism does not make one evil. The hunger can wear away at morality, but there are choices. When you start to lose your morality, you lose part of your self and the path of light doesn't seem all that different. It seems like the darker path is easier for your goals. It makes great evils seem not so bad. Should they succeed, I doubt there will be any mercy left in them. They will do what they feel must be done."

Marco cringed, they already talked about overthrowing people and probably killing them. He didn't want to know what they would do with less morals.

"Okay, okay," Marco spoke, "Is there anything you can tell us that could help us stop this?"

The demon looked up to the sky, "The moon will soon be in place." He tapped on a metal collar around his neck, "This doesn't allow me to refuse an order that vampire gives me. Though there are loopholes. They will order me to perform the ceremony in time and do so correctly, but I will be able to stall for as long as possible."

"That's good!" Marco cheered, "A distraction at the last moment. Get Hekapoo to bring out some of her clones at the last moment. We don't have to win the fight but just run out the time. Maybe I can sneak you away during the scuffle."

"Yes, I suppose that is the best plan we can form before the dance starts."

"Dance?"

"The force behind this ritual is drawn to the act of dancing. It is said that they dance across the multiverse showing in certain dimensions every few centuries. It just happens in this dimension it arrives every few decades making it a great location for impatient vampires."

"Okay, but why a dance?"

"Because of what it represents. The soul is something few will ever truly understand. A portion can be given, through relations, through the bonds we make. A friend, a lover, a comrade, with emotions get let a sliver of your soul part and latch onto another. Such ways will not alter the person, but let people make connections." The demon mused, "It is not unlike to connection of a child and parent. How a parent might sense their child is in danger when they are not around. Have you ever had the feeling when you think of someone you care about who is not around and yet for a moment it feels like they are there?"

Marco paused, "…yeah, I think so."

"I will put my own trust in you, Marco."

"Thanks… I'm sorry I didn't get your name."

"Solusod Corruptor of Souls."

"…cheery, So Solusod just-"

"Solusod Corruptor of Souls, it's rude not to speak my full name."

"Ah, sorry, okay, just be ready to run."

0000

"Ah!" Seraph squealed less than delighted. The little trip to the cotton candy stand had gone awry.

"Pulling my hair!" Sabrina yelped.

Sabrina was looking over the machines making the candy treat in a swirling mess, and Seraph ran into her causing her to tumble right in. Seraph and Starfan quickly pulled her out but in doing so got caught up in the mess too. Sabrina was covered in thick cotton candy, and Seraph and Starfan were stuck in it too or their hands were stuck at least.

As Seraph struggled to pull out her hand from the cotton covered hair, a few sparks of an ember flickered around her as they tended to do when she got a bit upset.

"No!" Starfan warned her, "I think heat just hardens cotton candy."

Marco and Hekapoo were close by at a table enjoying some new snacks; the large platypus taking up its own seat. They thought about helping Seraph, but it wasn't like any of them were in danger, and it was little funny to watch.

Besides these things were just stuff kids had to go through.

Overall it was a pretty fun night. The only thing that Marco noticed was that his friends had wandered off; they must have found something interesting. Still he couldn't help but enjoy his time like this; despite everything, Seraph was having fun like a normal girl.

"Thank you." Hekapoo's voice whispered to him.

"For what?" Marco asked turning towards her.

"For that," She glanced over at Seraph. "Thank you for giving her a life that I couldn't. Even if things were different, if she lived at the Forge, she couldn't have made friends or had other kids to play with."

Marco smiled, "Oh! Thanks I guess. I really don't know what to say. You're usually not this sincere."

Hekapoo rolled her eyes, "And don't expect it to last." Hekapoo got up from her chair, "I'll be right back, just going to give Nachos a snack." She held out one of the bacon dogs.

"Don't let her eat the wrapper, she really likes the wrapper but-"

"Marco?" Hekapoo queried.

Marco's dad senses were going off wildly.

As he looked over to Seraph she was still trying to tugged her candy covered hand out of Sabrina's hair, but something had indeed changed. A new person had joined the little group.

It was Blake, a boy from one of his classes.

A boy.

A boy talking to Seraph.

A boy talking to his daughter.

He found someone tugging him back into his chair.

"Nope." Hekapoo's voice rang out. "And putting this away."

Marco realized that at some point he'd turned his scissors into a sword. Hekapoo flicked the blade, and it shrunk back down.

"I've seen that look in your eyes before, we're not doing that. Not for a boy just chatting up our daughter."

Marco just grumbled under his breath. Hekapoo got up ready to go feed Nachos.

"If he gets handsy, then we can use the sword."

Marco let out a small chuckle.

"Do you want to dance?"

"Huh?" Seraph asked turning to Blake confused, which was followed loud yelp as Seraph pulled out a clump of hair from Sabrina.

"You can even that out." Starfan suggested.

Seraph blinked still unsure of what was going on.

Blake took a breath and repeated himself, "Do you want to dance? Like, with me?"

"..." looks on blushing. She certainly understood what was being asked of her but just didn't expect it.

Starfan took the chance to help and nudged her side.

"Sure!"

Blake offered a hand to Seraph who took it with a blush painted on her face.

At the event they cleared an area for the dance; they put out this nice dance floor and set up a stage for a local DJ. The DJ was actually a nephew of Skeeves.

Though Seraph was a tad nervous about a boy asking her to dance; she just tried to think about having fun. She did enjoy dancing with others when the Bounce Lounge closed down. And Blake had always been friendly to her. She looked back to where Starfan gave her a thumbs up and Sabrina offered her a smile.

The only one not so excited about this was Marco, and he was doing his best not to fume and drag Seraph away.

"Calm down Marco." Jackie's familiar voice calmed him.

Jackie sat down in Hekapoo's vacant seat.

"I am calm." He assured her.

"Marco," She pointed to his drink, the container which had been crushed in his hand.

"Oh!" Marco dropped it and fumbled for some napkins to dry his hands.

"Yeah, so you're the over protective kind of dad. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

Marco turned away sheepishly not sure what to say.

Jackie stifled a laugh.

Jackie and the other girls had given Marco and Hekapoo a wide berth, after the wedding they decided to give Seraph as much time together as they could. Star and Janna had gotten distracted by one of the game booths when she spotted Marco.

Before she even knew it, she walked up to him and started to talk.

Marco finished up, "So, are you having fun?"

"Yeah," Jackie answered him and a thought struck her, "Do you want to dance?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I mean, we just never got around to actually dancing together. I think you still owe me a dance."

Marco blinked as he recalled going to a dance with Jackie but never actually dancing. He remembered riding a skateboard with her and then remembered that talk he had with her. She tried to hide it, but he was sure she was hurt.

He owed it to her, besides what harm could a dance do.

"Sure, let's dance."

Jackie offered him a dazzling smile and pulled him along by the hand. Before Marco knew what was happening, he was on the dance floor. The DJ started to play and he was there with Jackie.

The music began to play. Marco found himself staring at Jackie, her eyes seemingly sparkling.

Marco didn't know how to react; he didn't know how to react around Jackie at all.

Can beauty come out of ashes?~

They stepped closer to each other and trepidatiously Marco placed his hands on her hips. "Uh, is this okay?"

Jackie smiled, "Yeah, it's fine." Jackie wrapped her arms around him.

Can you use these tears to put out the fires in my soul?

'Cause I need you here, woah~

Jackie smiled calmly and Marco eased as they continued to dance.

'Cause I've been shaking

I've been bending backwards till I'm broke

Watching all these dreams go up in smoke~

As they danced together Marco found himself smiling. Jackie was always going to be someone special to him, his first crush and maybe his first love. Things didn't go like he expected or had hoped, but it didn't mean that he didn't care. He had wanted to be better for her and in the end he hurt her. He could at least try and give her one more happy memory. He smiled at her as he held her close, and they moved to the rhythm of the music together.

0000

Marco reached Hekapoo and gave her a summary, "Yeah, so he's in. It's going to start soon."

"Yeah, okay, so just have to get some of my nearby clones. Storm the place, you go in and try to sneak the demon out of here. Bonus I'm in a great position, just slip off this necklace at the right time and give them a fight from the inside too. Things are going good." Hekapoo said pleased.

Hekapoo didn't want Marco in the middle of a vampire horde, especially when the fight started. He was still mortal and things could get bad for him fast.

"I think I will need you to help me get the demon."

"What do you mean?"

"The guard for him. I doubt he's going to go to far. If he's some sort of knight I doubt he's going to ignore his duties until everything is done. He's not going to let me just take his prisoner."

"I'll deal with him, you just run off with the demon in distress."

"No, I can deal with him, just need a weapon of some sort. Maybe I can break a chair and get a makeshift stake."

"Marco, if he's really a Vampire Knight then I don't like your odds. Just leave it to me. If any of these blood suckers get a whiff of blood, this will become a feeding frenzy and then you won't have a chance."

The Vampire Lord stood in front of those gathered, "My friends!" He raised his hands, "The moon in nearly in place. The ceremony will begin shortly. I invite you to join us in dance." He waved over to the small band who began to play strange instruments.

It was a strange song, but Marco soon found his foot tapping to the beat, "Hmm, not bad. It's got a good beat."

Hekapoo tugged on his sleeve, "Okay, let's dance."

"What?"

"With everyone dancing, we can get closer to the door, and I can check out the knight. Get an idea of what I'm up against."

"Aren't people going to think something is up if you're dancing with your servant."

"Nah, you're my boy toy, and if I want to have fun with you, they won't care." Hekapoo smirked as she pulled him towards the dance hall.

0000

Jackie smiled; as the song came to an end she started to realize that people were starting to look at them.

People were already having questions about her standing with her Ex, and people were probably getting chatty about this dance.

Marco didn't seemed to notice as it looked like Justin was asking for the next dance with Seraph.

Jackie chuckled to herself. She knew Seraph meant to world to him and would never do anything to get in the way of them.

"Hey Lynn," Janna voice quirked up and as Jackie turned she found her friend looking a bit peeved.

Jackie understood why Janna might be angry. They agreed to stay clear of Marco tonight, but she instead asked him for a dance. Not that Jackie did so on purpose she just got carried away and asked him without thinking.

"I think it someone else's turn."

"Huh?" Was both Marco and Janna's reaction.

Jackie worked up a smile grabbing her and pulling Janna towards Marco, "Well, Marco is bugging out over- Wow, Justin asking Seraph to dance and I think a line is forming."

Marco turned around quickly, "what the-?"

It seemed a few people were getting in line for a turn to dance with the girl.

"Huh, I guess she takes after her dad." Janna mumbled to herself.

"Well, in any case." Jackie continued.

Marco was finding it hard to keep his calm and the bulging vein on his forehead wasn't helping things.

"Janna dance with Marco and help him focus on others things." Jackie told them.

"What?" Janna asked her.

Jackie moved closed to Janna, "I'm sorry. I know you said it didn't bother you when I was with Marco." She paused, "I just figured I could try and make it up a little, even if it's just with a dance." Jackie nudged Janna closer to Marco and spoke out loud, "A pair of old friends dancing sounds good right about now."

Jackie didn't wait for either one of them to talk back and walked away. She didn't need to give people more to talk about.

The music started again, and Janna found herself looking right into Marco eyes. "Heh," Janna let out, "It's been a long time since we've actually danced together."

Marco squirmed in his jacket as his cheeks blushed, "Janna! You promised never to talk about that."

Janna snickered, "What? You don't want Seraph to know her daddy used to be the Lord of the Dance?"

The next song began to play.

Lately I been, I been losing sleep

Dreaming about the things that we could be~

Marco groaned at the memory. When both of them were young, Marco was actually taking lessons in ballet. His mom signed him up so he could make friends and as it seemed Marco was really good. That was at least partially the reason why he was good at jumping and leaping. Janna was signed up by her mom, and she thought Janna would have fun and make friends.

I feel the love

And I feel it burn~

They would often be paired up together during lessons. Marco begged her not to tell anyone for a few favors which Janna already used up. Marco eventually left the dance class when he took up karate, and Janna left soon after. Though sometimes Janna teased him about that she never truly broke the promise. But sometimes it was too fun not to tease him about where he picked up the ballet shoe habit.

I see this life

Like a swinging vine

Swing my heart across the line

In my faces flashing signs

Seek it out and ye shall find

The old, but I'm not that old

Young, but I'm not that bold~

"Come on," Janna wrapped her arms around and pulled him close, "your little girl adores you. Knowing you used to dance wouldn't change a thing."

Marco felt his face go red suddenly feeling how close Janna was.

Old, but I'm not that old

Young, but I'm not that bold

And I don't think the world is sold

I'm just doing what we're told~

0000

Hekapoo was right next to Marco as they danced, the world faded away and they only heard the music. Marco wasn't sure when he got used to the warmth that came from being this close to Hekapoo, but he liked it.

This was a more proper dance and not a wild rave, but they could handle it. They've danced a lot together since their first time.

"Yow!" Marco let out, "Did you pinch my butt?"

"Can you blame me? You've got such a nice tight tushy." Hekapoo chuckled as she looked up to Marco.

Marco grinned devilishly, two could play that game. Hekapoo shivered as Marco's finger slowly traced their way up her back. His finger barely touching her, almost tickling her. Slowly with a subtle move he pushed her forwards where his lips met hers. His hands snaked around her keeping her close, not that Hekapoo thought about pulling away. For a moment it was just them and the music.

Then the music stopped.

They pulled away to find all the vampires staring at them, they also seemed to have missed the knight bringing out the demonic prisoner.

"Okay, what? We dance too long?" Hekapoo asked looking over to Marco.

"Uh," Marco pointed to the floor where he necklace sat.

It looked like Marco had slipped off the necklace, and the vampire horde just saw him making out with her real self.

Yeah, they had been caught.

0000

Everything that kills me makes me feel alive~

Marco found himself smiling as he finished up his dance with Janna. She was a nut, but she was fun. And if worse came down it, he knew he could trust her.

"It looks like you still have your moves." Janna smirked, "I guess Hekapoo gave you plenty of chances to practice. Huh?"

Marco found himself shrink at the comment, "Well, I guess."

"Seraph is enough proof of that. I bet she taught you some new moves too." Janna smiled, she loved seeing she could still affect him. "Speaking of which…"

"Dad!" Seraph ran up to her father grabbing his arm.

"Seraph."

"You're dancing! I want to dance with you!"

"It looks like you have a lot of people that want to dance with you." Marco glanced over to see Keith there waiting for his turn.

"Come on Dad."

Marco felt himself caving into his daughter demands.

"Okay."

I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night

That tonight's gonna be a good night

That tonight's gonna be a good, good night~

"I love this song!" Seraph pulled Marco along.

Marco couldn't help but smile. It wasn't too long ago when they met, but he couldn't imagine his life without her. The wonder and the passion she saw in the everyday things, he loved it. She loved dancing. He wouldn't say she might have gotten that from him, but he could definitely see her mom's influence there too.

He danced along with her, just out sheer joy of having her in his life.

He loved her. Marco Diaz couldn't say he was certain about a lot of things, but he loved her.

Nearby Star Butterfly saw herself smiling, they were happy. She wanted them to be happy, especially after all the mess that came from them. So she watched them dance, her heart swelled as she could almost see the big burly Marco dancing around with a toddler Seraph dancing around wildly.

As the song came to an end Seraph paused, "Star? Did you want to dance with Dad too?"

"What?" Star waved her hands, "No! I was just standing here!"

"You don't need to be shy." Seraph had already gotten to Star's side and pulled Star towards Marco.

The DJ began the new song.

I'll tell the world, I'll sing a song

It's a better place since you came along~

Star shyly said, "I guess one dance can't hurt."

Marco smiled, and they started to move to the soft rhythm of the song.

"It's been a while since we had a dance together." Marco told her.

"No, I mean, we danced at the Bounce Lounge."

"Yeah, I guess," Marco admitted to her. "But- like just us two. I think the last time was at that ball with Tom."

Since you came along

Your touch is sunlight through the trees

Your kisses are the ocean breeze

Everything's alright when you're with me~

Star blinked and tried to hide her blush as she remembered dancing with a dashing stranger.

Seraph had started to dance with Keith but paused for a moment, something seemed off. The light around them seemed off, and she looked up past the lights the cheer squad set up. She rubbed her eyes, "Huh, does the moon look redder?"

Star held Marco's hand as they dance.

And I hold my favorite thing

I hold the happiness you bring

But it feels like I've opened my eyes again

And the colors are golden and bright again

And the sun paints the skies and the wind sings our song

It's a better place since you came along~

The world seemed to fade around them as the song approached its end under the moon's crimson light. Star found herself looking into Marco's eyes, and Marco found his eyes focused on Star. Her eyes seemed to glimmer in the moonlight.

He brushed a stray hair from her eyes. Star held her breath as she inched closer to Marco trying to-.

Marco blinked and noticed at the corner of his eye Hekapoo returning.

"Mom!" Your turn!" Star barely heard that as in her excitement had pushed Star out of the way and put Hekapoo there.

Hekapoo had returned just as the song was ending, and Seraph grabbed her.

"Seraph." Hekapoo gently scolded her daughter.

The DJ got on the mike, "Get on the dance floor folks for the last song of the night."

"If you want a chance to dance with Dad it's gotta be now."

Star walked away feeling it would be best to leave before they noticed her again.

Marco offered Hekapoo a hand, "What do you say Hekapoo?"

Hekapoo sighed, "Yeah, sure why not."

Seraph smiled to herself as she watched her parents get ready to dance. There was no trepidation as they moved together and held each other as they had so many times before.

The DJ spoke, "We're going to leave you with something slow."

Both parents flinched at the familiar words. Seraph looked at the moon the reddish tint almost all gone, but still lingering.

Marco found his hand in Hekapoo's hand, he didn't notice all the eyes turn to them.

City of stars

Are you shining just for me?~

"Bring back memories?" Hekapoo whispered to him.

"Yeah, a lot of good ones."

There's so much that I can't see

Who knows?

I felt it from the first embrace I shared with you~

Marco brushed aside her bangs and looked deeply into her amber colored eyes. A faint blush spread across of Hekapoo's cheeks. The flame above her head growing and shrinking, mimicking her heart.

Just one thing everybody wants

There in the bars

And through the smokescreen of the crowded restaurants

It's love~

Marco hand began to trace the outline of her face, "Hekapoo…"

"Marco…"

Yes, all we're looking for is love from someone else

A rush

A glance

A touch

A dance

A look in somebody's eyes

To light up the skies

To open the world and send it reeling

A voice that says, I'll be here~

They didn't speak. It didn't feel like either one had to. Slowly, they leaned towards each other, moving ever closer to close their embrace. Their hearts beating, and their minds filled with memories they both treasure. The memories of a first kiss, followed by another first and the many grand adventures that would follow.

'Cause all that I need is this crazy feeling

A rat-tat-tat on my heart

Think I want it to stay~

Seraph watched as her eyes twinkled. She was certain her parents were about to kiss, but something cold went down her spine. It was almost as if the air had all suddenly gone cold.

A green blast tore the air apart, both her parents moved apart on instinct avoiding the blast.

Seraph turned to find Star holding her wand smouldering and wafting black smoke.

"…Star?" Seraph asked sacred, Star eyes were dark and clouded.

There was a primal growl, and it came from Hekapoo. Flames erupted from her hand and rushed right at Star.

A massive hand formed from Star's wand smothering the flames.

Seraph was trying to make heads or tails of what was happening, but didn't get a chance as Janna and Jackie jumped on her mother. Hekapoo didn't hesitate to toss the girls up.

"Dad! What's going on!?" Seraph yelled.

Her answer was answered by Marco launching himself at Justin.

"What?"

Seraph looked around to see everyone tossing everything around, yelling and screaming, fighting and just turning the whole place into a chaotic mess.

"W-what?" Seraph noticed it, the moon had turned green. "What's going on?"

"Hehehe! My, my. Aren't you a curious little thing?"

Seraph froze; through the chaos she heard calm and distinct steps walking towards her.

"My spells are a bit- off? Maybe. I don't know, magic feels weird lately. It feels greasy. Thick. Like, drinking melted butter."

There was a man standing in the green moon light, and just by looking at him Seraph just felt that he was wrong. Oddest thing is he felt familiar, yet Seraph was certain she never met this person before.

He was a thin figure dress in a dark old style suit. He wore a red vest, and black dress shirt with a tall collar. A black and red dress cape wafted behind him. He walked closer as he tugged on his white gloves before he fixed his a dark top hat that sat on his long messy hair. Every inch of his skin was covered up, his face covered up a strange ivory mask with black markings forming a simple and minimalist smiling face. As he turned to Seraph, she could feel his eyes turn to her even behind the mask.

His voice was soft yet commanding and just a little bit off, like a voice on a record skipping out of order. The tone just never matching what it should.

"I came to see what Hekapoo was doing, and I find you."

Seraph took a step back, "You know my mother?"

"Mother?" He tilted his head.

"Yeah," Seraph didn't finish her thought as this stranger had moved right into her face.

She leapt back.

"You are odd." He leaned closer, "My spell is off, not great. It's very flawed. It needs the moon to make everyone a bit looney." He turned to where everyone was rioting, where Star was firing at Hekapoo who was dodging the attacks. "It worked. It works by dragging out the worst of people, the things they want to keep hidden." He waved his hand in the air, "It's not hard, those emotions want out, and they want to take control and with a little bit help- Ta-dah!"

Seraph felt sick watching the fighting.

"Now what about you? No itch to fight? No vendettas? No envy? No jealousy? What kind of teenager are you?"

"Ah, well, I'm just a few months old?"

"Months?!"

"I grew fast." Seraph shrugged nervously.

Seraph shuddered as she heard the skin behind the mask stretch into a smile, "Heh! It was you! Months ago I sensed something! I sensed something, and it had to do with Hekapoo! I sensed you! I sensed your birth! Explains it all! You're too young, too pure to have any negative feeling for the spell to work on you. Tell me what's your name?"

"Seraph." She said without thinking.

"It is truly a pleasure!" His voice cracked in glee. "I've known your mother a veeeery long time! I'm Erebus, and let's get to know each other and play a game."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait. Stuff happened, work, stabbing, grey little men, I was working on stuff. I had an** abridge **series go out on the internet called Soul Eater** Meisterhood **. A new ship war is brewing on** tumblr **, most don't see it coming. I think I was on vacation at one point. I saw a mummy. I answer questions about this fic on my** tumblr **as** addude **. My beta wanted to add calzones here for a reason that escapes me. Okay, I've started the on the next chapter which isn't nearly this long. Leave reviews telling me what you all think. If anyone out there is willing to draw up Erebus I'd love to see him drawn. If you want some more stuff, I'm also writing a fic about the** thanos **snap happening in this universe or at least one next door in a story called Vs Infinity. Check it out.** Otherwise **I'm off. Leave review. I need a closing line or something here.**


	20. Chapter 20: Khaos

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs the Forces of Evil**

* * *

Chapter 20: Khaos

Seraph didn't like this man, this Erebus. Every instinct in her told her to run as fast and far as she could.

But she had to stay. She had to stop the fighting somehow.

"Can you stop the fighting?"

Seraph glanced around. Hekapoo was trying to throw off Janna as Star blasted at random, all while Brittney seemed to be trying to take a bite out of her dad.

"Probably," Erebus shrugged, "Like I said, magic is weird. It's like someone broke it or something. Probably should lay off it."

"Stop it now!"

Erebus turned to her as if his unseen eye brow was raised.

He took a step towards her, and Seraph took a step back without realizing it. "Make me," He tasted the words, "You better hurry before someone one gets hurt."

Anxiety bubbled up in her stomach, in the background she heard screams and yells as everyone was trying to tear each other apart. She had to act, she couldn't stop them all, she couldn't hold them all, and she didn't know how to fix things.

"If I have to." Seraph took a step forwards.

Erebus chuckled, "Okay, I think they have a saying on this planet. Bring it on!"

Seraph took a deep breath and flames erupted around her fists.

"That's interesting."

Seraph charged as fast as she could, sending a punch at him. Normally such a punch would have hit, but he dodged just to the side of it. Seraph punched and punched and punched and punched again. Each attack barely missing Erebus.

"You really are young." Erebus taunted, "I'm not really a fighter, but I've been in enough fights and all your punches are so easy to read. You need to learn to hide it a bit better. Like-" He kneed her in the gut, "this."

Seraph tumbled to the ground coughing as she did.

"Maybe that's too hard for you. Okay, let's lower the bar. Get one hit on me. Just one, and I'll undo the spell."

Seraph looked up at the masked man with determination in her eyes. She had to keep going. She had to fight.

She had to win.

Seraph charged at him again, flames wafting around her as she ran. Despite every punch or kick she threw, he narrowly dodged them all. As she fought, Seraph thought back to the stories her parents had told her about the trial. Her father was a lowly human against one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse.

She had a lot of live up to.

0000

Bad things had hit the fan, and yeah, it was not great. The disguises had failed and they were surrounded by vampires.

Marco raised his arms ready to defend himself and really wished he had any sort of weapon. After all these were vampires, and in all the legends and stories he'd ever heard about people fighting vampires there wasn't many of people winning without a weapon. These were creatures far stronger and faster than he was.

Hekapoo was not in the same state though; she pulled out her scissors and broke them apart into a pair of daggers.

The daggers glowed as they began to heat. Marco smirked knowing the trick that Hekapoo was about to pull. He ducked as red hot dagger cut through one of the vampires. The vampire screeched as it was incinerated in an instant. They're immortal beings but are ridiculously weak to things like fire. Their bodies just fall to dust at its touch.

The dagger kept going and was finally deflected by a sword. The Vampire Knight blocked the blow and rushed forward at Hekapoo. Marco figured out her plan quickly enough, provoke the strongest vampires and give him a chance to escape with the demon.

He got her plan. She was the stronger one and had the best chance of surviving, but he hated the idea of leaving her behind.

"Come at me, Blood Suckers!" Hekapoo taunted them.

As planned, the vampires focused on the powerful forger instead of the lowly human.

Soon she was engulfed by the swarm of vampires, and they were soon shot off by Hekapoo flames. Some burned to dust and other struggled against the flames. Some vampires were weaker to flames than others, and it helped that some of them had undead shields. Those that survived growled as their burns began to heal.

Marco grabbed the dagger Hekapoo had thrown. Hekapoo had made sure that handle transferred the heat to blade so he could wield it. While it was still hot, he used it to slice through the chains that held the demon.

"Okay, it looks like it's time to run."

He gripped the dagger and rushed into the fight to help Hekapoo. He knew Hekapoo would give him an ear full of it later, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to leave without her.

0000

"You got closer to hitting me that time girl. Although, you might want to hide your intent more." Erebus said amusingly.

Seraph rushed Erebus. Hoping to catch him off guard, but he just dodged just out of her reach.

As she continued to attack, she noticed that every time she rushed him her attacks are getting closer to hitting Erebus. She felt like she would hit him soon.

Suddenly, Erebus grabbed her by her horns and hurled her into a nearby wall, which cracked at the force.

"You are starting to bore me. I had expected you to have hit me by now, so I'm going to liven things up a bit and start attacking a bit."

Seraph moaned at the pain as she forced her mind to think clearly. Obviously, attacking this way is not working. She remembered that the thing that always got her dad through it all was that he was determined and clever. If he didn't have the strength to solve a problem, he'd work out another way to beat it. She collapsed to the ground.

Erebus was faster and stronger than she was and had more experience. If she inherited any of her parents skills, she'd need them now.

"Wait? Did I kill you?" Erebus casually walked towards her. "I hope not, I was just starting to have fun. Ugh! Being bored is the worst."

Erebus looked her over. She was just sort of laying on the floor face down not moving.

"I expected the daughter of Hekapoo to be at least a little-" Erebus stopped as he felt his cape pull him back.

He turned expecting he caught it on something, but he saw a small portal with a hand sticking out grabbing his cape.

"What?"

The hand yanked and pulled him backwards, but he caught himself before slamming into the ground.

The hand vanished as he pulled on his cape. He turned to find Seraph charging at him again pointing her fingers at him.

"Pew! Pew! Pew!" Seraph sounded off as little fire balls shot at her opponent.

"Ooh!" Erebus sunk into the floor as he melted into his shadow laughing "Almost!"

His shadow slid around the floor avoiding the flames.

"Come back here!" Seraph called out.

0000

"Get out of here!" Hekapoo demanded as Marco forced a vampire away from her.

"Did you really think I'd leave without you."

"A girl could hope!"

The various glass windows shattered as the Hekapoo clones charged in. The clones attacked and charged at the various vampires.

Solusod Corruptor of Souls tried to use this chance to escape, but the vampire lord simply turned to him and said, "Stay."

His body froze in place, as much as he willed his body to move he couldn't. He stayed behind and watched what started to unfold. The room was filled with screams as various vampire began to burn thanks to Hekapoo and her clones.

Hekapoo prime was back to back with Marco as they defended themselves. As a screeching mess of vampires charged at Marco, he grabbed one and used its momentum to divert him into another. As another got close, Marco punched it in the face giving a clone a chance to set it on fire.

"You really should run!" Hekapoo yelled. "You are really outmatched!"

"Get me a weapon then!"

Before Hekapoo could give a witty come back, the room was ripped apart and Marco was tossed away from Hekapoo and any nearby clones.

Standing across the small chasm in the middle of the room was the Vampire Knight. "Did you want a weapon?" He held out the Luxor sword. The Knight smiled his fangs sprouting out.

Yeah, even Marco had to admit he was out matched.

0000

Seraph was getting the sinking feeling that she was just a plaything for him as Erebus's shadow moved about the floor dodging her attacks.

"Pew!" Seraph fingered gunned at the Shadows. "Pew! Pew!"

"That's adorable!" Erebus taunted. "You make gun noises as you shoot."

"Grrrrr!" Seraph growled as her hands were engulfed in flames.

She punched the ground and flames ripped through the ground splintering off in a spider-web like pattern.

"Ack!" Erebus jumped out of the shadow barely dodging the flames.

Seraph rushed through the flames, her dress wasn't fireproof and started to scorch. She would regret it later but not right now. She needs to stop Erebus.

0000

Marco rushed at the vampire Knight; it was the only thing he could do that would take the knight by surprise.

Hekapoo and all the others present were surprised by the action. It was an act that almost assured his destruction. The knight might be surprised by this, but that would only last for so long.

The Vampire Knight raised his sword to strike at Marco and cut him to shreds. The crystal sword began to glow as he felt his strength increased.

But the surprises didn't stop there, Marco smiled.

"Ak!" He let out as he something pierce his chest.

One of the Hekapoo clones huffed behind, seeing Marco rushed to his doom she went to save him. This clone managed to rip apart a chair and stab the distracted Knight.

The stab wound tended to be a bigger distraction, so much so that he didn't realize that Marco placed his hands on his head. With one quick and very loud snap, the knight fell to the ground.

"What did you think you were doing?!" The Hekaclone yelled at Marco. "If I hadn't been so close you'd be dead!"

"I only did it because I saw you there. I knew you'd have my back, and you'd save me."

Hekapoo looked at him dumbfounded. She was both flattered that he had so much faith in her and insanely furious at Marco.

0000

Erebus waved his hand and a wall of shadows raised into the air, and with no time to stop, Seraph crashed right into it.

Erebus mocked, "Nice try, maybe you should try to pay attention to-"

He didn't finish that thought as a sickly looking narwhal struck him and caused him to tumble backwards.

The wall of shadows faded away and Seraph got up.

"What?!" Erebus picked up the narwhal and tossing it towards Seraph. "Did someone just throw a whale at me?"

"It's a Narwhal!" Seraph spat back as she dodged to the left.

"Duh, a narwhal is a type of whale. It's a whale with a horn; it's a unicorn whale."

Erebus jumped back as more narwhals were fired towards him.

Seraph would love to take credit for it, but it was Star's doing. Star was wildly firing at her mother, who had Jackie on her back trying to pull off her horns. Seraph saw this and just moved Erebus towards the general direction of her firing. It was an idea from a story her mom had told her.

"I am not counting that!" Erebus yelled as he danced around the narwhals. "You have to get the hit in!"

Erebus caught one of the narwhals mid air and hurled it back to Star.

Star was knocked aside for the moment.

Seraph raised her fist ready to fight.

Erebus chuckled, "You are determined. I'll give you that."

"Yeah, I got it from my dad."

0000

"You really should know when to give up."

Marco didn't expect to hear the knight speak or his hand grab their ankles and fling them away.

The knight stumbled up and snapped his head back in place. "I'm immortal, did you think breaking my neck would stop me?"

Marco groaned, "I kinda hoped."

The Knight yanked out the makeshift stake out of his chest. "By the way you missed my heart."

"Good note." Marco got up ready to fight again.

The vampire knight chuckled, "You have spirit, admirable. It won't grant you any mercy."

Marco rushed him. He had to attack now, the sword was on the floor and if he picked it up Marco didn't like his odds. Marco had to keep this as hand to hand fight.

Marco got him unaware and pushed him to the ground. That didn't last as the knight gathered his bearings and hurled Marco off, sending him flying. Marco tumbled backwards crashing into a table that held the refreshments.

Hekapoo and her small army of clones fought the vampire swarms. Flames shot out of the clones incinerating any vampires that dared to get close, soon ash swam through the air. Their numbers began to dwindle; Hekapoo wagered that most of these vampire weren't that powerful to start with and were eager to try and get a glimpse of real power.

Hekapoo paused as she saw Marco fighting and rushed to help him but was quickly pulled back.

Hekapoo tumbled back down as someone dragged her back by her hair.

Hekapoo growled as she looked up, "You ruined my wedding."

Hekapoo found herself staring up at the vampire bride.

0000

"This I got from my mom!" Seraph charged at full speed with her hand's aflame.

Seraph chopped at Erebus, but he just kept narrowly dodging it.

"Come on! Be better! I fought your mother loads of times! You don't think I would have learned how to keep up with her speed! And let me say you are much slower than her." Seraph's attacks started missing by a much larger margin as Erebus starting getting bored again, "Come on! I sensed you! Be impressive! You are such a let down! How do your parents even stand you!"

"Shut up! Shut up!"

"Well, you certainly don't have your mother's sharp tongue!"

0000

"Really wearing white?" Hekapoo flipped kicked up delivering a blow to the brides head.

Hekapoo got on her feet and prepared to square off.

She scowled as her eyes started to glow red. The bride charged Hekapoo, and they slammed into each other.

Hekapoo snickered, "You're going to regret that."

Hekapoo felt her nails dig into the vampire's flesh right before her hands caught on fire. The vampire screamed as fire consumed her.

Hekapoo let her go and turned to go help Marco, but then she found she couldn't move as if something grabbed her.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?"

Hekapoo shivered at the distorted voice of the bride. She looked around to find the ashes of the bride gathering and pulling the other ashes in the room together.

Nearby the Vampire Lord and Groom smiled, "She does have talent at necromancy. Such a useful skill, don't you think?"

Solusod Corruptor of Souls ignored him as he looked up to the skylight as the moon moved into place.

The Vampire Knight quickly pinned Marco down having recovered his sword. His free hand tightened around Marco's neck. "Do you have any final words?"

Marco was finding it hard to breathe much less speak.

0000

Erebus yawned, "Bored, you are boring me." He continued to easily dodge her attacks as if they were nothing, not even giving her the chance to hit him. Then as Seraph got close for another attack, he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the ground.

Seraph tried to struggle and push him away but to no avail. Her lungs ached as they begged for air. Her eyes welled as tears started to leak out of her eyes. Her arms felt weak as she tried to pull his hands off him.

Seraph tried to scream out for her mom and dad but couldn't get a word out.

"You know of all the things your mother is, she's never bored me."

0000

"I can't hear you." The Knight taunted Marco. "You're going to have to speak up-"

Marco smiled as the vampire's grip weakened, "You said heart, right?"

Marco pushed in the stake in a little deeper.

While they rolled on the ground earlier, Marco picked up the makeshift stake Hekapoo had used. He grabbed it right before he got flung away. While the Knight tried to choke him, Marco plunged the stake right into his heart.

With that last bit of force, the vampire huffed as his body collapsed into ash.

"Why are you immortals always so cocky?"

Marco tried to catch his breath as he saw the ash bride lean towards Hekapoo and gather the ash of the fallen around them.

Marco moved to help her but found that the ash swirled around him taking the form of humans.

Surrounding him were the ashen remains of the other vampires. He looked around, and it looked like the clones had been knocked out by the other vampire that attacked or by the Knight's attacks.

The Groom walked closer to the ashen Bride. "Did you really think you could win?"

The ashes dragged Marco closer. Now he and Hekapoo were next to each other as they faced the vampires.

The Groom brushed Hekapoo's bangs aside gently, "Thank you for saving us the trouble of hunting you down."

"You've done little but delay us." He looked Marco in the eyes, "What strange company Hekapoo keeps. Either way you will meet the same fate as her. If I might give you some advice, try not to hold your breath. It makes it an easier death."

"No." Marco spat back. "We're not dying here."

0000

As Erebus started to crush her neck he offered up this advice, "Don't fight it, it just makes it worse. Just go into that good night."

Seraph struggled to say something.

"Hm?" Erebus grumbled, "Hot!" His hand felt like they were burning.

"NO!" Seraph screamed, flames erupted out of her mouth blasting Erebus off her.

Seraph jolted up coughing as her throat ached and her eyes watered.

Erebus nearby screamed as flames wrapped around his body. All around him those enraptured by his spell stopped and fell to the ground. The green moon returned to his natural creme color.

Seraph got up and looked as Erebus screamed with his whole body covered in flames.

0000

"Defiant to the end," The groom smirked, "I like that, I might make you into a thrall… No," he spoke calmly, " that sort of act is unbefitting of a Vampire Lord. I will reward such courage with a quick and final death."

Marco rolled his eyes and pushed himself from the floor and at the Vampire Lord with the ashes grip just barely holding him. Marco would not give up.

"If you want to die fighting, then die a warrior's death." He turned to his Queen of Ashes, "Dear, if you would be so kind to provide the challenge."

The Vampire Lord tossed him to the center of the room, the countless ashen corpses circled.

"Marco!" Hekapoo struggled against the Queen of Ashes as she tried to reach Marco.

The Vampire Lord chuckled, "I didn't imagine you'd be so desperate for a lowly human."

The Queen's voice was a scrambled mess of sounds in her ashen form, "Maybe she wishes to die with him. I think it would be awfully rude us to deny her a chance to die with her lover especially on our wedding day."

"Quiet right," The Vampire Lord nodded.

Hekapoo found herself hurled at Marco. He did his best to catch her, but they both met the floor quickly and hard.

"You okay?" The both asked at the same time.

They didn't have to answer as the ashen forms of the fallen vampires circled them. They both jumped and moved back to back. They'd done this many times before and so it became a second nature for them. It was an odd sensation for them to be so used to be in danger but together they felt that they could make it.

The false vampires lunged at the pair, but they had experience. They knew how to cover each other's weaknesses. As the dark specters approached, Marco picked up Hekapoo and spun her around; as each one got closer Hekapoo kicked a hole through them. He put Hekapoo back on the ground, and they turned to look at each other. Without a second thought, they struck, attacking the ash vampires that were hiding in each other's blind spots.

Hekapoo ran around throwing balls of fire disrupting to ash creatures, Marco punching and chopping at any of the attackers that tried to get Hekapoo between attacks.

The pair fought together and protecting each other, though this couldn't last and Hekapoo knew it. Marco was human and he couldn't keep this up forever, he had impressive stamina but that would only last so long. Everyone in the room knew it, the vampires certainly did, they were just playing with the pair before they killed them. Already he was getting winded.

Solusod Corruptor of Souls knew this, he could practically feel the presence of Death lingering to collect their souls. Solusod Corruptor of Souls felt useless, the magic made by the vampire kept him from escaping but he could turn away as to not watch them die. As he turned away he got a glimpse of light and he turned up the glass ceiling to where the moon shone almost in place. Because of the struggle, the vampires had forgotten it for the moment. A thought struck him, and he looked at their souls. Hekapoo's was ancient and passionate, and Marco's was strong and determined. The more the demon looked at them he thought their souls looked strange; they weren't anything like he thought they would be. He was then sure that something was affecting Marco and was surprised to see that it was affecting Hekapoo as well.

He pushed the thought aside, there was something else to do. He was brought here to perform a ritual and maybe that was what he had to do. Using the powers of the moon was difficult, especially if one was to force a connection but there was already something connecting them. If he could just give it a nudge, after all the way they fought was almost like they were dancing. If he could manage it….

Solusod Corruptor of Souls took a deep breath and a pulled out a small puzzle orb from his clothes. He whispered a chant that had been passed in his family for generations.

Marco and Hekapoo took an instant to look at each other, both silently making the same promise to protect the other.

Marco spun Hekapoo around flames dancing around them providing something a barrier from the ashes.

"We need to kill the bride." Marco whispered to Hekapoo, "She's controlling the ashes, moving them like puppets."

"Yeah, I noticed but incinerating her didn't help. She's got power, enough to keep herself together. She's undead so she can hold a lot more power than a mortal body."

"So how do we stop her?"

"Destroy everything about her, I must have missed something in her something she used to keep herself alive." She glanced over at the ash that was the bride, slowly it was healing, "I'd have to get every bit at once."

"And then there is that Vampire Lord."

"A tough customer, we'd probably need to do the same to him too."

Marco smiled at her and turned her to face him. "Make it count."

Marco twirled her away and before she knew it, he was rushing through the flames. Marco wasn't sure why flames didn't touch him, maybe they had and he hadn't felt it because of the adrenaline. He felt lighter and he gave it his all to move. He rushed at the Lord, but the Lord grabbed him in the middle of it, his hand gripping Marco's head.

"What were you planning? You thought rushing me would do it?" The Lord's nail grew and dug into his flesh. "I'll pluck that eye for a keepsake."

As Marco started to scream, Hekapoo ran towards him as fast as she could desperate to save Marco. All the ash coils around her desperate to held her back and realizing it was a difficult task. Hekapoo ran ripping apart tendrils of ash that formed around her.

The bride struggled to hold on to her, flames ripping around Hekapoo.

The Vampire lord growled tossing Marco aside to focus on his concern.

"Marco!"

Hekapoo watched Marco slump on the ground a small puddle of blood forming beneath his head.

The Vampire Lord licked his fingers, "You really do care, don't you? Don't worry you won't be separated for long. Hold her."

The Bride raised her hands and a cloud of ash gathered into a rope binding Hekapoo tightly.

The groom held out his hands as shadows formed in it taking the shape of a knife.

"I'm going to kill you for what you've done." Hekapoo told him.

"How would you do that?"

"With this!" Marco shouted, from where he landed he managed to grab the forgotten Luxor Sword and tossed it. It took a moment for the vampires to realize what he had done, but Hekapoo moved as if this had been rehearsed between them a million times her body acting without thought. The sword went right into her hands before the vampire knew it was too late. The sword was already boosting her abilities.

The crystal sword glowed bright red as Hekapoo's eyes glowed with fire. A great flame erupted from Hekapoo, the power welling within her escaping with her fury.

They didn't even get a chance to scream as white hot flames consumed them.

0000

Erebus screamed,"Roll! Roll!" And after a moment the flames died down. Seraph couldn't make out what happened, it was like the world was glitching out around him. He stood up with no sign that he was ever on fire. Slowly he turned to Seraph, and as much as she hated to admit it, she didn't have it in her to fight again.

"Okay, that was good. Wasn't expecting that." Erebus huffed, "Well, bye."

"Bye?"

"Yeah, bye. Did I forget something? You got a hit on me, and I broke the spell. I kept my word. " He turned away, "Oh! Tell your mother hello. I'm sure we will be seeing each other real soon."

With that he melted back into the shadows, and the shadows faded away under the moonlight.

Seraph took a breath, "Mom! Dad!"

Seraph ran to the crowds of people laying on the ground all unmoving.

"Mom? Dad?" Seraph found them in a pile with her friends, everyone looking tired and scuffed up.

She fell to her knees exhausted, but relieved that they were okay.

She wanted to cry, they were okay but why did she feel like she'd failed. Tears started to stream from her eyes.

There was a familiar sound of engines and growls, soon Nachos flew down towards her and rushed to her side. The dragoncycle nuzzled Seraph and licked her cheek, licking away the tears.

"Nachos?" Seraph worked up a small smile, "You smell, were you chasing pigeons again?" Seraph clung to the dragon, "I think I need your help getting everyone home."

0000

"Marco?" Hekapoo was surrounded by soot, she dropped the blackened sword and rushed to Marco.

Marco was just slump to the side now. Hekapoo moved over and saw a large scar over one of his eyes. "Why did you do that?"

"Immortals are so overconfident, I knew he'd worry about you. I just needed a chance to get you the sword-"

"You could have died!"

"If I did nothing, we both would have died."

"You idiot," Hekapoo tried to hold back her tears; she pulled Marco close and just held him.

Nearby Solusod Corruptor of Souls stood and watched the collar around his neck fall off. He looked up to see the moon out of position.

0000

Marco gasped as his body ached. He felt something warm by his side, "Hekapoo?"

He was in his living room couch Hekapoo slumped next to him.

"Marco-sama yamate..." Hekapoo mumbled barely awake.

"Yamate?" Janna's voice perked up.

"Uh?" Followed Jackie

"Marco?" Star said accidentally smacking Marco's face.

Marco looked around, he and everyone was on the couch.

"You guys awake?" Seraph walked in holding a bowl of cereal.

Hekapoo woke up seeing that she'd been scuffed up bandages all over her.

"Seraph what happened?" Hekapoo jumped and Marco following suit dropping the other girls to the floor.

"Yeah, sorry," Seraph shrunk at the attention putting the bowl on the coffee table, "I had to put these on myself, grandma and abuelo are out at dinner still."

"What happened?" Marco asked horrified to see his daughter like that.

"Things got weird, there was well spell and everyone started fighting."

Star looked at her hands they felt rough and hurt, and she noticed more bruises forming on the others. Star felt sore like she'd been hit with a Narwhal. She remembered feeling angry and something else she couldn't put her finger on.

"I managed to get some of the adults up and helped people get home with my scissors. Nachos helped me get you back here."

The school didn't know what to make of what happened, they were glad no one was seriously hurt. Though Skeeves was upset that any money they made was now going to be used for the new damages they made.

"Some guy named Erebus showed up and started to cause trouble, and I had to fight him to stop it."

"Erebus!" Hekapoo and Marco shouted with fear.

"Erebus?" Janna mused, "That sounds familiar."

Star winced, "That story? He's from that story that parents tell their kids. Behave or Erebus the Lord of the Dark will come crashing down and tear down your world. That he hides in every shadows under your bed waiting for someone to catch his eyes. That if you see the smiling mask it is too late. He's just a story."

"Then why does Hekapoo look even paler." Jackie pointed out.

Both Marco and Hekapoo looked over Seraph.

"Did he do anything to you?" Hekapoo said panic in her voice.

"We fought and he got in a few good shots." Seraph tried to smirk. "I got some in too."

Marco gave her a weak smile. "But are you okay?"

"Yeah."

Hekapoo sighed in relief, "It doesn't look like he put a spell or anything on you." She looked right at Seraph, " If you ever see him again, run, just please run."

Hekapoo hugged Seraph, and Marco joined her.

Seraph wanted to say something but couldn't, she just hugged her parents tightly.

Star looked on confused, why did Hekapoo seem so scared of a story?

0000

Hekapoo created a portal for Solusod Corruptor of Souls to use to take him home. She bandaged up Marco and told him he'd stay with her until he healed. Though he'd probably have a nasty scar from now on.

"We stopped it, I guess." Marco smiled nudging the bandage a bit.

"Idiot!" Hekapoo scolded, "Don't be so reckless. I won't always be around to save your butt."

"But you were, so I knew I'd be okay."

Hekapoo tried to smile, she didn't even realize that her hand was holding his tightly.

"You are bounded." Solusod Corruptor of Souls told them,

Marco blinked, "Oh! Yeah, I'm mean we've bounded a few times but…"

"Idiot!" Hekapoo growled. "Don't talk about it."

Solusod Corruptor of Souls coughed, "That is not exactly what I meant, but not wrong either. Carry on as you were. What happened tonight had little difference. You are bound together because you chose to be together. Fate might have played a role, but you have to chose in the end. Even the ritual and that moon do not have the power to change things. Influence yes, but your heart and your own choices are often more powerful than that or any power that might choose to act on your behalf."

"Okay" Hekapoo said, neither she nor Marco understood what he was trying to say. He'd been captured and enslaved so if he wanted to philosophize about fate and choice let him.

Solusod Corruptor of Souls smiled, "If you ever need my help feel free to ask. I am indebted to you."

Solusod Corruptor of Souls walked into the portal and back to his home.

Left alone, Hekapoo pulled Marco close, "Come on Muscles, let's go back to my place. I need a nap and you're going to keep me warm."

Marco chuckled, "Yeah, I wouldn't mind it either."

Hekapoo made another portal and with it they stepped back into the forge.

0000

"Ugh…" Brittney let out. "What?" She found herself waking up in one of the rooms that belong to Diaz family.

It seemed that during the chaos, somehow she and Sabrina and Starfan had an accident together. They fell into the cotton candy machine and now were entirely covered in the sticky substance.

They were stuck together, and Seraph decided she should be the one to get them out of it before sending them home, or at least get someone to help them out.

Brittney cringed as Nachos the dragon licked the candy off her.

"What happened? What am I doing with you losers?"

She was answered with a lick from the dragon, and the confused groaning from Starfan and Sabrina.

* * *

 **Beta note: Your friendly neighborhood beta here wishing you all a happy early Halloween to everyone.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Stuff! Yes! Things have pretty much got beat up…yeah….. I feel sad now. I have already written the next chapter and my beta is hard at work checking it. It's called the Princess Arc, I'm sure that will be a delightful story arc. I'm sure nothing terrible will happen.**

 **Any leave your comments telling me what you think. If you guys have a lot of good ones I might write something about Seraph during Halloween, or I won't. October is a busy month for me. I do video explaining the supernatural and how to fight it for my room mate for this month. If you want to see them go on youtube and look for dealing with the supernatural. anyway later and happy halloween.**


	21. Chapter 21: Princess Marco

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs the Forces of Evil**

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Chapter 21: Princess Marco

Marco and Seraph were going over one of Seraph's books. Though she'd been on Earth for a while and had caught up a lot, she still needed some help. Seraph actually liked reading so that helped when it came to her English homework, but there were often metaphors and things she didn't get simply because she didn't live on Earth and learn about those cultural references. So every once in a while after school, they went over those things.

There was an issue, they couldn't focus as Pony Head and Star were talking so loud that they could be heard from Star's room.

Marco sighed, "Hey, let's take a break. I'll make some nachos for us to snack on."

"Yes!" Seraph quickly agreed when nachos were brought up.

A few minutes later they found themselves in the kitchen. Marco had always held pride in his nacho making skills and took just as much pride in teaching Seraph how to make them.

Seraph enjoyed making food with her dad. Seraph found some delight in his skills to cook. She had noticed how her family seemed to have skills in creating. Her mom was the forger of the dimensional scissors with each pair unique, crafted for their owners, and their own piece of art. Angie made beautiful poetry, and Rafael was an artist who made all sorts of sculptures and things. Even her uncle Rhombulus was skilled at making beautiful crystals. Seraph wondered if she'd ever show any creative talent. She liked making things in art class, but she never saw it as all that great, or all that unique.

At the moment, she was happy enough to enjoy her family's skills especially when she got to eat what they made.

After some effort, they finished their nachos and headed to the living room to watch some television as they ate.

As soon as they sat down and started nibbling, they heard someone run down stairs.

"Nachos!" Star raced down having smelled the treat. "Did you make some?"

Marco sighed, "Yeah, come down here and you can have some."

"B-fly!" Pony head followed behind Star. "How did you even do that? You got like a nose like a dog."

Star sat down besides them and grabbed some nachos.

Marco spoke up trying to start a conversation, "So, you two seemed to be having a lively talk, what were you talking about?"

"Oh, our new issue of Princess Beat Monthly came in." Pony Head told him.

Star held out a magazine she had brought with her, "It's a special issue. It's about the winners of the Princess Awards."

"Princess Awards?" Seraph questioned the pair.

Star explained, "Every year all the princess of the multiverse vote for our fellow princess for various awards. Best Dressed, Best Hair, Best Smile, Most Artistic and that sort of stuff."

"Oh, did you two win something?" Marco asked.

His reply was a moment of silence before Star spoke up, "… no."

"I still can't believe I didn't win Life of the Party." Pony Head huffed.

"Princess Nova did throw that party."

"Oh, I'm sorry if my parties don't spread out across star systems. Most of my guests need to breath air! I'm just being considerate."

"But it's not over!" Star decided to stay on the first topic. "This issue revealed most of the winners, but the biggest awards winners are announced next issue."

"What awards?" Seraph asked grabbing a few nachos.

Star answered, "Most Up and Coming Princess, is the award mostly given to new princess who every expects will do great things."

"There is also the Most Beautiful Princess award, which I'm a shoo-in to win, for the princess who's the best looking." Pony Head said smugly.

"The Most Virtuous award is for the princess that is declared to do the most kindness, most charitable and overall nicest princess. You have to be a saint to get this award."

"But that is so boring," Pony Head told them. "Then there is the award for Best Future Queen. That's pretty much the award for whoever everyone agrees will becomes a great queen. Obviously, everyone wants to get that one. It's usually given to a princess who is going to take up the crown soon."

"And then there is the big one!" Star said cheerfully, "Princess of the Year!"

"Yeah, everyone wants that one too!" Pony Head agreed. "It's given to the princess everyone thought did a great job being princess and just being awesome."

Marco tried to hide his expression. It sounded like it was mostly a popularity contest for princesses, but then again it could also be a nice ego boost to those who deserved it. It would be nice to hear that people thought you'd do a good job as a queen or that all your charity was noticed and valued. It was probably a good confidence boost for any princess who just stepped into the all public light.

"We might still win one of those!" Star told them. "The rules say that the winners of the top five awards become ineligible for the other awards, and even then they can only win one of these. So if we didn't win any other awards, we might have won one of them!"

"Good luck!" Marco told them before going back to his nachos.

"We don't need luck!" Pony Head told him. "We just need to wait, the winners will be contacted in the next few days and then they will be announced."

"Yeah, and next month there will be a special issue focussing on just these winners. They're all given a beautiful trophy and a huge chest full of gold to use anyway they want."

"That and you get the envy of all the other princesses." Star finished off.

Suddenly a portal formed in the living room, a man in colorful and puffy clothing stepped out. Honestly, he reminded Marco of one of the servants he saw around Star's castle. He looked around confused, "Pardon my intrusion. I meant to open the portal outside. I beg for your forgiveness; I've never found myself traveling to Earth before. I am the messenger for Princess Beat Monthly, and I have come to inform two award recipients."

Pony Head and Star squealed in delight holding each other.

"It's happening!" Pony Head smiled.

"Oh, Pony Head I voted for you for Princess of the Year."

"Thank you! I voted for me too!"

The man pulled out a scroll and cleared his throat, "I am honored to inform Princess Marco that you have won Princess of the Year. I am equally honored to inform your daughter, Princess Seraph, that she has been declared the Most Up and Coming Princess."

"What?" They all yelled.

"Wait, you're a princess?!" Marco questioned out loud.

"You're Princess Marco?!" Seraph looked at her father. "Like my doll?"

"Wait, you have my doll?"

"Mom got me one when I lived at the Forge. I just didn't realize you were the same person." Seraph stared blankly, "You have the same name." She grumbled feeling like an idiot.

"Of course she did." Marco figured Hekapoo was probably saving that knowledge for something special. He doubted Hekapoo didn't recognize their similarity. Seraph hadn't met Marco when she got the doll and probably never connected the dots.

"Wait, you have dolls?" Star asked him.

"Yeah, I got all sorts of merchandise from being Princess Marco. They send me a royalty check for 650 dollars every month."

Marco realized something suddenly, "But you're a princess?" He turned to his own daughter, slowly he started to hear gears turn, "Well, your mom does wear a crown and she does rule her whole dimension. She's the ruler and you're her daughter so you'd… be a princess."

Marco felt like an idiot not realizing that earlier.

The messenger continued, "I must say this is the first time that two winners are related in such away. But you've both made quiet a name for yourselves this past year."

"We have?" Seraph asked confused.

"Yes, indeed," He pulled up a scroll that began to display moving images of the events he spoke about, "Princess Marco, you didn't come into the attention of the Universe until this year. Your debut to public came as leading a revolt at St. O's and exposing the horrendous practices that went on there. Following that you showed up again in public during the Battle Nexus Tournament, and the first human to enter it. More to the point, you helped defeat a coup and ended winning the tournament. There was also a revelation that you'd gone on one of Lady Hekapoo's trials and earned your own dimensional scissors. A truly impressive feat, nowadays most scissors are just knock offs or passed down from generations passed. I haven't even heard of anyone in recent memory to earn them by passing a trial. More to that you're also the first human to do that. Your determination on a 16 year long trial easily puts you on the same league as other legendary warriors to pass such trials."

Marco knew that passing the trail was no easy feat but didn't think people actually considered it some sort of legendary feat. Though if he was less humble, he'd admit he'd done some pretty awesome things during the trail.

The messenger continued, "Then there were the stories about your relationship with Lady Hekapoo. Rumors are still going around about your wedding."

Marco cringed; he didn't want to think about what the multiverse was saying about that disastrous wedding.

"Many people were disappointed to hear that it was only brought on by those blasted Love Bugs. There are many people, including many of our readers, that hope you two will get together."

Marco had the feeling that this guy shipped him and Hekapoo.

The messenger pulled out a scroll dealing with Seraph and began to show images relating to her. "Your debut on the universe's stage came at the Battle Nexus Tournament. As the brainwashed contestants began attacking, you helped evacuate the civilians. You even fought off the brainwashed contestants in order to allow people to escape. It is a rather impressive feat that you managed to fight off the contestants with years of experience using your own skills, powers, and guile all while limiting damage done to them. It goes a long way to show how your lineage influences you and what you will become."

"What?" Seraph didn't understand what he meant.

"Your parents are Princess Marco, a revolutionary and a renown warrior, and Lady Hekapoo the protector of dimensions. It's quiet telling you take after them since the first action the public heard of you was to protect the innocent. With that in mind, we all expect that you will do just as amazing as they have."

Seraph stared at him for a moment; it seemed so much to live up to. "But-but what about Star? She was helping at the tournament too, and her mom is on the commission too."

"Ah, well, yes." The messenger said, "Yes, Princess Butterfly has begun to make a name for herself ever since she received her family's wand. She fought at St O's alongside Princess Marco as her side kick and was seen helping out during the tournament. If anything, I think she lost votes with the rumors that right after getting her wand she set fire to Mewni."

Star couldn't help but flinch at that.

"What about me? Why didn't I win anything?" Pony Head yelled out.

"Yes, well, Princess Pony Head has gotten a lot of attention mostly notably for being arrested and tried by the Merpeople along with the mismanagement of St O's after she took over."

"Oh, are they still complaining about that?" Pony Head rolled her eyes.

The messenger continued handing them their scrolls, "A condition for getting the awards is for you to come in to our office for an interview and a photoshoot. The details are inside. If you need to reschedule, contact information for the interviewer is included as well."

Marco and Seraph both stared at the scrolls in their hands.

"I bid you adieu." The messenger opened up another portal. "I still have more scrolls to deliver." He stepped into the portal leaving them.

0000

Marco sat in his room alone thinking all of this out. He was surprised he won a Princess Award but was honestly a little shocked no one bother to check if he was actually royalty.

He wasn't sure if he should go to the interview. He did do some impressive things, things he was proud off, but he had a nasty feeling about it. He couldn't shake the feeling he won because of the stories going around about Hekapoo and him. If the girls at high school were any indication about how these princess voted, then they did love gossip.

He didn't want people talking about Hekapoo or Seraph because of that. He didn't want anyone disparaging them because they thought his relationship with Hekapoo was scandalous.

After all he and Hekapoo weren't even dating or anything, and people do love to drag people down. So far they'd been lucky on that front, but Marco feared their names would get dragged through the mud because of him.

It didn't help that during the tournament, he and Hekapoo had talked about some sort of debut for Seraph and this wasn't their plan. Not that they had much of a plan, they had thought that for Seraph next birthday they'd call it a quinceañera and throw a big party for her. It seemed fitting since quinceañera were typically a coming of age thing and would be a good chance introduce her to everyone, but now it seemed like the multiverse had already found out about her.

Marco was tempted to turn down the awards to avoid the extra attention. Though the money prize would be nice, even with his royalty checks he was putting away he could always use more money in case Seraph needed something. He didn't want his parents to have to pay for everything.

He laid down in bed and started looking at the popcorn ceiling trying to make sense of it all.

"Marco?" Star poked her head into his room. "I reheated the nachos. Do you want some?"

"I'm not hungry right now."

Star placed the plate of nachos on Marco's desk before laying down on the bed next to him. "Is something wrong? I thought you'd be happy that you and Seraph won the awards. It's a huge honor, and you've both earned them. You've done a lot of stuff this year and helped a lot people, and inspired a lot of princesses to be individuals and be better. I can see why people would expect a lot from Seraph too. During the fight at the tournament, she didn't hesitate to kick butt and help people. She takes a lot after you like that."

Marco smile the kind words, "Thanks, I'm just not sure."

"Not sure about what?"

"This whole thing. I don't want Seraph to get dragged into the spotlight. Me and Hekapoo figured that she'd get a lot of attention being the daughter of the forger of the dimensional scissors, but we wanted her to have a normal life before all that."

"Then what's the issue? She's already got the attention. She got a lot of attention saving people during the tournament. There is probably some talk about her already. A lot of people must have found out about her when you and Hekapoo sent out this invites to your buggy wedding."

Marco sighed at the memory, "Yeah, I guess."

"Yeah, people know about her already. I think this is your chance to get people to know the real her. There is going to be an interview. Why not go with it? Let people know her; she's great. I'm sure that when they hear about her they'll love her."

"Maybe," Marco had to admit that it sounded like a good idea.

"Why don't you ask her what she thinks? She's a smart girl, Marco. I'm sure you can come up with an idea together."

Marco needed some kind words, something to reassure him, and he got it. Before he knew it, he grabbed Star and hugged her. Moments like these made him realize how much he missed Star during the trial. "Thank you Star."

"…" Star was a little surprise by the sudden contact. Slowly she hugged him, her hearts glowing a little at the contact. Star noted his smell; he had a unique scent, something that was just Marco.

She blushed a little realizing they were holding each other on a bed.

"Hey Dad," Seraph knocked on the door walking in.

Star quickly pulled herself away from Marco and threw herself off the bed. Quickly with a jolt, she got on her feet.

"Hiii!" Star said shyly.

"Hey," Seraph replied confused by her sudden actions.

It seemed that Star was the only one who thought the situation was weird.

"Hey Seraph, can we talk?" Marco asked.

"Sure," Seraph said spotting the nachos and taking a few.

"I'll just leave the two of you alone." Star decided to show herself out.

"Do you want to do this interview thing?" Marco got up and asked.

Seraph played with her hair, "I'm not sure, I guess it's a little interesting. I just don't know what everyone expects of me. You're this warrior, and mom is one the most powerful beings in the universe and… I'm just me."

Marco looked at his daughter, out of all the things that she could inherent from him he never wanted her to get his own insecurities. But he saw it there in her eyes, that look of just feeling you were never good enough. He got up from the bed and gave her a big hug, "You are great," Marco found it weird to be on this side of things. He wasn't even sure he got over all of his insecurities, but ever since meeting Star he started to get over them. "You're my daughter, and I love you and your mom loves you. You don't have to be anything other than who you are. I'm sure if you let other people get to know you they would think the same thing. If you want to do this interview, I'll be right there, and if you don't, then I will support you."

Seraph looked at her father and saw such confidence in his eyes, confidence in her, and she felt like she could do anything. She was nervous, but she felt like she could do it. "Okay, I think I'll like do it. It might be fun."

Marco supported her, though they agreed to talk to Hekapoo about this. Things were weird between them right now, but Marco knew he had to tell her. Hekapoo had indeed been planning on doing something with the Princess Marco information but now that plan was going to waste.

They talked it over, and she agreed it would be best to do the interview. To get ahead of the story as it were, if they turned down the award, it was likely more people would talk and would be more inclined to sling mud.

Like Marco, Hekapoo was sure that their daughter would make a good impression.

0000

A few days later Marco and Seraph rode on Nachos through a beautiful valley. They had used the dimensional scissors to go into this dimension, but decided to take a quick ride on Nachos to relax a bit before the interview.

They raced through valley on a winding path surrounded by wild grass and fresh air.

Seraph always loved riding on Nachos, feeling the wind running passed her hair. It felt like flying. She trusted Nachos, and she trusted father to keep her safe during their ride. Right there and then, she only thought of the joys of flight.

Soon enough they found themselves at a building nestled on top of a hill. It was an odd place for an office building, but the magazine company liked the view they got. They thought it helped their staff work better, and when you specialize in a magazine that sells mostly to rich princesses you really don't worry about overspending.

They parked Nachos and gave her a treat telling her to wait for them.

Marco held his daughter's hand as they walked through the front doors.

As soon as they stepped into the office building, they were swarmed by a group of people. A woman in a business suit walked to them.

"I'm Madam Dramaturge. I'm glad to have both of you here, your majesties." She gave them both a bow as did those around them. "We have much to do, and I'm afraid that our photographer can't stay too long, they have to leave for another assignment. We will have to hurry. If it's all right with both of you, we'll have to have the interview as we get you ready and do the photoshoot."

"Ah, sure," Marco shrugged.

Marco then realized who the other people were; they were their makeup and dress people. They were eyeing them to decide what would look best on them.

The group started to pull them to different ends of the buildings.

"Huh, what's going on?" Seraph asked.

Dramaturge smiled, "My dear, we're taking you both to get ready for the photoshoot. Our interviewers will be there waiting for you. "

"Can we have a moment before we start?" Marco asked.

"Of course."

The group gave them some space.

"So, okay, don't be nervous." Marco told his daughter, "You'll be great. If you get nervous or anything, remember to take a breath. You can refuse to answer anything you don't want to. Otherwise just be honest."

"Okay, dad." Seraph smiled, "By the way, do they know you're a guy?"

"I don't know, I've been expecting someone to call me out on it. I don't know if they haven't realized it; they might think on Earth we call the guy a princess, or they're trying to be supportive… I was half expecting them to call me out right now, but it didn't happen. It just feels too late to bring it up now."

A few minutes later, they were being escorted to different rooms where the makeup people started on their looks.

0000

"Princess Seraph," A small pixie with large glasses sat nearby on a makeup table with a large notepad and pen.

"Uh, you can call me Seraph, Miss Kim." Seraph eyed a woman who took off her jacket and hoodie and started to take her measurements.

"No, I can't do that. I'll just call you Princess Seraph. There are so many questions."

One of the makeup artist started to polish her horns. "Yik!"

"Let's talk about your unique situation. There has been a lot of talk and maybe you can clear some things up."

"Sure," Seraph told them, "I'll try."

"There is some question that your age is not what it seems."

Seraph's smile faded a bit, "Well, that's complicated…"

And Seraph started to explain the circumstances of her condition.

0000

Marco had already gotten into his usual Princess Marco dress that they provided. They thought it was her classic look and used some magic to get his hair back into the ponytail. One of the make up artists was combing his hair. While another one was working on his make up.

"You have such pretty eyes. Let's just bring some more focus to it with some eye liner and a bit of mascara. You don't want to over do it, bring attention to your eyes but not distract from it. The same with blush, too much and you distract from your beauty mark. Makeup should just highlight your own beauty, not hide it."

Marco looked himself in the mirror, "Wow, you do great work. I look great."

"Thank you." The makeup artist smiled.

"Cute," A blonde haired cat lady in a stylish but simple dress smiled as she tapped her notepad. "Are you ready for the interview?"

"Yes, sorry Miss Grant,"

"Okay, Princess Marco, I have to say you've made quite a name for yourself. You lead a revolution, became the first human to earn dimensional scissors, and then won the Battle Nexus Tournament. I would love to focus the interview on that, but my boss insisted that I ask you some things our readers demand to know."

"Like what?"

"Your relationship with Lady Hekapoo and the birth of your daughter,"

"Oh,"

"Yes, you can refuse to answer anything, but I do have to ask."

"No, I understand. I'll try to answer anything I can."

"Okay, our readers want to know about you two. Some are saying that you spent 16 years in her dimension."

"That's correct,"

"Well, people are asking what was the nature of your relationship in her dimension, especially considering that you have a daughter together."

Marco glanced at her with a rather cold look that made her tail curl up. Miss Grant knew she had to be careful, not only was Marco a renown warrior of well renown but also a princess and royals hated to be put on the spot. And if she was going to suddenly get her head cut off, she'd prefer it happen because of a real story and not some gossip piece.

She had to thread carefully.

"Of course you don't need to answer, your personal life is yours."

Marco sighed, "No, don't worry. I suppose I should have expected that. I guess it's not much of a surprise that people would wonder about that. I will start by saying that I will not talk about anything that could hurt Hekapoo's image in anyway. But I will answer any questions that relate to me."

Miss Grant tapped her pen, " Okay,"

"Our relationship was complicated, and I suppose still is. It started off simply enough as her rival in the trial, but then we became friends, and then it developed into something more."

Miss Grant raised an eyebrow, "Developed how so?"

"Well, during the trial Hekapoo would call these time outs. We'd stop and talk about all sorts of things. She had gotten interested in me and wanted to talk, then from time to time we'd start eating together or have some fun together-"

Marco began to tell them about his relationship with Hekapoo.

0000

Miss Kim was a little surprised, usually people she interviewed would try to have things their way, but this girl was sincere and honest. And it was sad; she couldn't be with her mother because her dimension would accelerate her age and eventually kill her.

"It must be difficult for you, not to be able to live with Lady Hekapoo like that."

"A little, I guess," There was a sadden tone in Seraph's voice, "but now but now I get to know the Princess Marco" Seraph chuckled, "My mom got me this doll, and all this time I didn't realize they were the same person.

Miss Kim couldn't help but chuckle at that too, "I suppose Lady Hekapoo would have no reason to use Princess Marco's full title."

"But she always told me stories, about everything they did together about all the adventures and everything. I think I should have realized they were actually one and the same."

"Okay," The Pixie started, "you've just recently come into the limelight. What do you think are some traits that a princess should display? Anything that you've learned from you parents or anything?"

Seraph was silent for a moment as she thought the question over, "That's hard for me to answer. I honestly didn't realize I was a princess until recently. I don't want to come off dumb or anything-"

"Don't worry it's pretty understandable. You're only a few months old and grown so much; it's reasonable you'd miss a few things as you settle into your new life."

"Um, I guess, I would have to follow my parents example. Both of them great, I know they try very hard to take care of me and everyone around us. I guess, try to be thoughtful and patient. If I learned anything from my parents, it's that you shouldn't give up. There are solutions to your problems, sometimes they just have to find a new way to solve them."

Miss Kim smiled at the girls innocent sincerity, "So, I take it your parents are a big inspiration to you?"

"Yeah, but everyone on Earth has been."

0000

"But you're not in a relationship with Hekapoo?" Miss Grant asked Marco.

"No, I'm not."

"Though both of you were nearly married even if by the will of those love bugs, are you telling me there is nothing between you?"

"Hekapoo is the mother of my daughter, one of my friends, someone I know I can rely on and someone who helped make me better and reach my potential. Hekapoo is and will always be someone special and dear to me."

Miss Grant wrote something down on her notepad, "Okay, what do you have to say about some of your critics? Some have been saying that it's improper for a princess such as yourself to have a child out of wedlock."

Miss Grant shivered as Marco's eyes grew cold again, "My daughter is a miracle," His eyes began to soften, "this has never been the way I imagined having a child, and I'm sure it's not how Hekapoo thought of it either. If people want to say it's improper of me than so be it, I won't stand to hear anyone besmirching Hekapoo or Seraph. If they want to say anything about me so be it, I don't care. I'm not ashamed, me and Hekapoo were both consenting adults, and it happened and we got Seraph. I was lucky, my parents were very supportive and understanding, as were all my friends. It made it possible to give Seraph a good home and life, and Hekapoo has done everything she can to help us. I know not everyone would have been in such a position. If people expected better than me, then I'm sorry I let them down, but I'm not concerned with them. I have a daughter, and she's what I care about."

Miss Grant scribbled on her notepad. At first she thought this would be about a princess that ran off and had a torrid affair with a member of the High commission and had a child, but it was turning into something else.

She could tell there was something between Marco and Hekapoo possibly romantic or possible something else, they both cared for her daughter, and Miss Grant had the feeling that if it came down to it Marco would cast off everything to protect the young princess. This interview had more layers than she initially expected.

And if she was being honest she could relate to Marco, she was a mother two boys. Her work kept her busy and never gave her enough time to spend with them.

In a way she almost envied Marco, to be lucky enough and courageous enough to at least try to raise Seraph. Marco wasn't being optimistic about it. He knew it was difficult and grateful for all the aid they'd gotten from family and friends.

Miss Grant tried to stay unbiased with interviews, but it was hard to sometimes.

0000

They talked for a while, and Seraph moved behind a curtain and started to put on the dress they gave her. Miss Kim asked her all sort of things, about her parents, about her life, about living on Earth, and about her friends.

After they finished fixing her hair, Miss Kim lead them down the hall to start the photoshoot.

As she walked into a wide room, she was greeted by Marco dressed like a princess, "Princess Marco!" Seraph just managed to prevent a squeal from escaping her lips to see her idol standing there.

Marco looked at his daughter; she was wearing a long yellow dress with red trim. They gave her a black tiara, one similar to her mother's.

"Oh!" Marco couldn't help, but squeal. "You look so cute!"

"Ah, Thanks," Seraph grinned, "you look so pretty!"

Marco wrapped his arms around her, "No, you do."

They both embraced each other and only stopped when a flash of light.

"Oh sorry about that," A small spider in a bow tie hung from a line on the ceiling. He held a small camera.

"You will have to forgive him," Madam Dramaturge waved them over to the spider, "that is our photographer Jimmy Parker."

"Sorry for not introducing myself. I tend to take pictures a lot when a moment arrives."

Dramaturge smiled, "We'll start the photo shot. I take it none of you have any objections about both of my girls interviewing you as the photoshoot goes."

Neither Diaz had any objections.

Dramaturge smiled, she told the interviewers to ask questions that they might not have been as willing to answer in the presence of the other.

Marco gave some instructions to Seraph, "Just try and relax and have some fun."

Seraph quickly found herself posing with Marco. Marco was a natural at it.

Marco has gone to photoshoots before for posters and things. Seraph did her best to follow his lead. Jimmy was taking picture giving them small directions and taking picture trying to find the right shots.

"Okay," Miss Grant began, "Princess Marco, you are well known for the rebellion at ST. O's, recently Miss Heinous has started to become more public."

"Yes," Miss Grant said holding out her pen, "are you afraid that Miss Heinous might be a threat to you or your family?"

"Not really," Marco admitted,

"She did threaten your family."

"I know, but I didn't take her as much a threat." Marco flipped his ponytail behind him. "She's not much a threat. She's a confused old lady; her assistant isn't anything of a threat and her bounty hunter… apparently me and Star beat him without realizing it."

"Yes, about Star Butterfly, your sidekick," Miss Kim spoke up, "I'd be hated by the readers if I didn't ask."

Miss Grant sighed with a roll of her eyes, Miss Kim lived for this tawdry gossip stories.

Miss Kim leaned in towards Seraph, "What are you thought about her?"

"I already told you that-" Seraph began.

"No, no, no" Miss Kim let her wings flutter, "Yes, Princess Butterfly is one of the leaders of the Rebellion of St O's and sidekick to Princess Marco, but what else is she?"

"What else?" Marco quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, there is talk. People think you'd make a good couple. I believe they have a couple name for you two, Marar, I think they call it."

Marco's voice cracked, "Me and Star?!"

"Yes," Miss Kim turned to Seraph, "what would you think of her becoming your step mother?"

Miss Grant growled, she knew Miss Kim was just trying to get a reaction and trying to get some sort of scoop to report on.

Seraph blinked unsure of the question much less what to say. She turned to Marco who looked just as confused.

"Let's move on." Miss Grant started.

"I was just getting started." Miss Kim glanced at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry I just thought that our readers might find it more interested in the potential threat to their bloodline and not some silly romantic rumors."

"Silly? This is drama! This is life! Two friends battle together and slowly a romance begins, to complicate things there is a young girl in the middle. The struggles between emotions of duty and desire. That's the very essence of life."

"So gossip?"

"Oh, sorry, why are you getting so catty?"

Miss Grant hissed at the pixie.

"Ladies!" Dramaturge stopped them, "Let's behave for the royals. You are two of my best, please don't let me down."

Some of the staff brought in a cart with food, "Okay, let's take a break and maybe act like adults."

Madam Dramaturge knew they were her best at finding what readers wanted to read, but they didn't work well together. Despite this, she did have faith that they would get interesting details from this interview, and this was such a unique circumstance.

Marco and Seraph were more than glad for the break and moved towards the food.

The room's peace was shattered when the wall behind them exploded. They hit the floor, and Marco looked up using his body to block Seraph.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Miss Heinous walked through the shattered wall as she held a lizard arm with a chainsaw. "It just seemed like a good time to barge in."

Behind her stood Gemini and several robotic guards.

She smiled a sickly smile, "Hello Princess Marco, so very good to see you again." She turned to Seraph. "And Princess Seraph what a pleasure it is to meet you."

Everyone stared at this unstable woman that looked on menacingly at them.

Miss Grant just looked over to her fellow interviewer, "Told you so, this is much more interesting."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Sup, okay so here we have the start of the Princess Arc. Let me know what you guys think. Also, before I check out J053PH-D4N13L on DeviantArt who did some great fan art of Marco, Hekapoo and Seraph ready to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos. Go check them out. If anyone else makes fanart for the story let me know and I'll give you guys a shout out. Anyway, getting back to work on the next chapter, it should be out soon. Also check out the omake for this story cause I got a new one out. leave a review and tell me what you guys think.**


	22. Chapter 22: Princess Seraph

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs the Forces of Evil**

* * *

Chapter 22: Princess Seraph

"I liked your hair the other way." Heinous told Marco, "It was cuter."

Marco stared daggers at the woman. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't just sit back and do nothing when you are named Princess Of the Year," Heinous scowled, "You?! The Princess of the Year?! You are the farthest thing from a proper princess."

"Why are you even here?" Marco asked, "This whole thing is not supposed to be revealed until the next issue."

"For the love-" Madam Dramaturge held back a curse, "Steve! I've told him not to reveal anything! I will have another talk with our social media manager."

"What are you here for?" Marco kept his focus on the woman backed with the metal guards. "And I thought you were broke, where did you get the new guards?"

Gemini coughed to clear his throat, "Oh, these are our old guards. We were digging through the dumpsters. They had barely gotten around to tossing them out. All we had to do is repair them."

"Yeah, Pony Head… is gonna be an interesting queen."

"That brings us to our purpose," Miss Heinous spoke up, "I've come for your daughter. Imagine what people will say if I can turn your born out of wedlock wild child into a proper princess. I'll have parents bringing me their children in droves."

Marco didn't hear the end of that sentence, his world went red as his blood started to boil at the very idea of this woman taking his daughter away from him. Marco rushed at the woman, but was stopped by one of the robotic guards punching him in the gut.

Marco was flung back only to be caught by Seraph.

"Yes, how can you be a proper parent with behavior like that?" Heinous chuckled petting the severed arm.

"Are you okay?" Seraph whispered to him.

Marco nodded as he forced his breath to get regulated; he couldn't lose his head again. He pulled himself to his feet and stood before his daughter, his scissors finding their way to his hand with a burst of flame turning into a sword.

Gemini shivered at the glare Marco was giving him. It was the look of a warrior that would not allow themself to be stopped.

Marco voice was low and serious, "I'm going to give you one warning, leave now or I won't be held responsible if you try to even touch my daughter." His grip tighten on the sword's handle.

The room grew quiet, even the robots seemed nervous.

"Gemini, go get her and make sure to silence those reporters." She motioned to the staff that had gotten stuck in a corner away from the door.

"Ma'am?" Gemini questioned.

"They're reporters, they will talk and her mother is Hekapoo. We can't have her find out about this too soon, if she comes after us we will need a healthy head start."

Marco stood between them, "Seraph, go with them and make sure they get out."

Marco didn't wait for a reply as the robots walked forwards and with two swings of his sword he slashed through them.

The two robotic guards lingered before falling to pieces to the ground. Marco walked forwards straight at Heinous.

"Hurry!" Heinous ordered.

The robots rushed at them with four times the speed. Marco quickly took down another pair as the rest pushed past him.

Several robots rushed at the magazine staff, "Move!" Seraph yelled at them.

Her flaming fist struck one of the robots forcing it to collide into the other.

Seraph quickly put herself between them and droids. The flames danced around her arms as she fixed her stance.

All at once, the robots all rushed at her, trying to over power her. Flames flickered in Seraph's eyes as she rushed them right back with her arms spread out. She let out a battle cry pushing forward as flames erupted outwards striking the machines.

Cracks and sizzles followed and their metal began to boil and crackle.

And with one final push, the machines tumbled to the ground and mostly in a puddle.

Seraph huffed wiping some of the newly liquid metal from her. Her breathing was hard; that took a good deal of effort on her part.

The magazine staff stared at awe at the young woman before them and sheer power she had started to display.

"Yes, we'd expected you'd do that." Gemini held out a silver gun and fired it.

Something struck Seraph and wrapped around her torso pulling her hands together as it did, "Uh, is this duct tape?"

"Muspelheim duct tape, not only can it withstand high temperatures but also absorb heat near it."

Seraph tried to ignite her hands again only to feel them getting cold and the tape glowing a little bit.

"You are not the first hot tempered princess we've dealt with."

Seraph growled, "Sorry about the floor." She glanced at Madam Dramaturge.

Seraph's feet ignited burning away her shoes and the edge of her skirt and scorching the floor black. Seraph had tried flying before; it hadn't worked out for her. She couldn't find the right balance and without her hands to stabilize her it wouldn't be any better.

As more robots came closer to them, she jumped and kicked one of the robot's head right off. In mid air, she put her feet together and forced more flames to erupt and fire her like a rocket.

"Oh my!" Gemini mumbled out watching Seraph's horn rip through the robots and slamming one of them right into him and then a wall.

Marco's dress swirled around him as sliced the robots that dared get close. No motion was wasted, each move perfectly planned not to use extra unneeded strength or leaving any opening until he made one. Marco rushed right at Heinous and held out his sword

"Rasticore!" Heinous let out.

The severed hand she'd been holding raised the saw blocking the blow.

Marco fell back to the ground; some of the robots were starting to move towards him. They were starting to surround him.

The old headmaster didn't hide her disgust, "I heard about your trials with Hekapoo. Sixteen years of fighting and struggle all alone except for few moments of a torrid affair, such undignified activities for a princess much less one that has so much focus on her. Then to have an illegitimate daughter with that depraved termagant-"

Rasticore was forced to block another sudden blow from Marco.

"Don't you ever speak of them like that." Marco spat poison.

She snapped her fingers as the closest robots all turned their attention to Marco, surrounding him.

"I will speak of them any way I like." Heinous spoke haughty, "You've lost. Surrender with some dignity, like a proper princess. You're alone and will remain that way."

Marco smirked, "You don't know anything about my trails with Hekapoo. If you did, you'd know I'd never give up. That and I'm never alone; I wasn't alone on that trial I had a friend." Marco took a deep breath and let out a loud whistle.

Heinous looked around as if expecting something to happen, "Was-"

A terrible roar ripped through the air, Heinous's eyes bulged as Nachos rushed towards her. She barely had a moment to dodge the dragon cycle.

Nachos rushed to Marco's side, smacking some of the robots aside with her tail as she went.

Marco patted the dragon on the head, then with a whisper, "Get Seraph out of here."

The loyal mount gave a solemn nod and rushed towards her charge. As Nachos moved to her, Seraph struggled to pull herself free as her horns got stuck in the robot. Nachos used the horn on her nose to rip through the tape that bound Seraph.

"Seraph use your scissors and get out of here." Marco ordered,

"I can't." Seraph admitted through gritted teeth. "I left my scissors in my jacket, which is back in the dressing room."

Marco moved to change his sword back to scissors and hand them to her, but Seraph placed her hand on his. "No, I'm not leaving you! You wouldn't leave me, so I'm not going to leave you!"

"I'm the parent! My first job is to make sure you're safe!"

"I'm your kid! It's my job to make sure I keep my family!" Seraph argued. "You wouldn't leave me, Mom wouldn't leave me, why'd you'd think I would leave you?"

Marco couldn't help but smile, his daughter had a good heart and protective of those she cared for.

She also seemed as determined as him.

"Okay, if you're not going to go get back to back." Marco told her, his mind trying to come up with a plan to fight everyone off. He was thinking maybe they could fight for a while, and if he acted quickly, he might be able to use the scissors for a portal shove Seraph through. He needed to make sure she was safe above anything else.

They got ready to fight back to back with Nachos by their side ready to fight.

They didn't get a chance.

Something struck him, something wrapped around him and he tumbled to the floor. His sword fell to the side as his hands were bound. Then something hit Nachos, keeping the dragon from moving around.

As Marco struggled on the floor, he saw what was happening. Gemini from under one of the robots was firing his duct tape gun. He barely managed to free himself from the robot to have some sort of aim. He fired rapidly at Seraph hitting her a few times, she tumbled to ground this time with the duct tape wrapping around her torso and legs.

Marco hadn't noticed him under the robot.

Heinous looked over to the small man struggling to free himself from the broken robot, "Gemini, I never thought I'd say this, but good work."

"Thank you my lady."

Seraph had managed to keep her left hand from being bound. She tried to create a ball of fire, but as soon as the flame manifested the tape drew out the heat and it sizzled out.

"Get her." Heinous snapped at the robots who quickly picked up Seraph.

Heinous walked over to Marco, "Worry not, I will make sure to teach your daughter proper manners."

"By brainwashing her!" Marco tried to break his bounds.

Rasticore's fingers wriggled around the saw, "Ah, yes," Heinous continued, "Rasticore is still upset about what happened at Quest Buy. Since you destroyed his body, I say that it would be fair for him to do the same to you."

She held out the arm as it held the saw, then paused to revved it up. "Give me a second. The cord is stuck again." Heinous tried to pull the cord.

Gemini suggested, "Pull from above."

"I know what I'm doing!"

The Magazine Staff held themselves in bated breath. They expected this to be a big interview for them; they didn't expect that this would turn into a obituary piece, not that they thought they would get a chance to write about this anyway. The robots were all around them waiting for their orders.

"Got it!" Heinous yelled out as the saw finally got going.

Seraph panicked. She pulled out her flames as much as she could, desperate to do anything. Sparks shooting off her hand, she could barely hold a flame. She focused on her flame. She could control it. She had to stretch it out to do something. She had to do something.

The saw came down on Marco but stopped; a long whip like flames wrapped around it. Seraph held out her hand with a stretched out flame in it, controlling its shape and tugging on it, pulling the saw away.

The flame whip sizzled out, and Seraph let out a tired breath.

"Get her hand!" Heinous ordered.

"I've got it." Gemini pulled out the gun and aimed it at her hand, his eye lens focused on the target.

A small triangular dagger formed in her hand, and with a flick of her wrist it flew and struck his false eye.

Gemini yelped as he fell backwards, and the flame dagger vanished.

"Gemini!" Heinous let out as she moved towards the girl.

Seraph formed another dagger, but instead of throwing it, shot it out much like how she had shot before. The dagger made contact with the saw forcing it out of the lizard's hand.

These constructs were more compact, more solid, and easier for her to aim.

"You impudent wretch!"

Seraph, in a panic, let the flames dance on her hand. She tried pulling her hand out as far as possible letting the flames take a bit bigger form than the daggers, a small sword forming. Seraph already felt the flames weakening so close to the tape, she acted quickly using it to slash at the robot that held her. The robot dropped her and it's now half melted arm. Seraph tried to move back.

Marco didn't waste his chance and moved towards the still spinning saw and used it to cut the tape. He quickly ripped through it, jumped up, and pushed Heinous aside. Marco picked up his sword and rushed to his daughter's side.

Using the sword, he cut through the tape.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Seraph got up ripping a bit of tape away from her.

More robots rushed at them, and Seraph held out her hand, creating more daggers and shooting them at them. Marco slashed at them with fury making his way to Nachos and freeing her. The dragon roared and started to leap on the robots and tear them part.

"Lady?" Gemini made his way to Heinous. He was having a hard time seeing anything with his false eye.

"Do something!" Heinous ordered him.

"I would if I could."

There was a clatter as the last robot fell to the ground and the room went silent.

Seraph formed a long blade, copying the sword her parents gave her. The flames flickered wildly, but it held its basic shape.

Heinous got that her plans were not going where she wanted them to grabbed the chain saw and quickly created a portal away.

A well placed kick from Marco tossed the saw away. Heinous turned to find Marco's blade right at her neck.

His eyes were cold and black, Heinous expected pure fury and rage but instead saw Marco… almost calm. Yes, there was rage in his eyes, but his body was steady, focused, and thoughtful.

He spoke in just barely a whisper, "I've seen a lot of things. I've been in the front lines of battles. I've seen enough broken bodies and blood to last me lifetimes. I do not want my little girl to see such horrible and bloody deaths. I won't let her see that. And I don't want to be the one make her see that," The tip of the sword digging into her neck and drawing a single drop of blood, "But you attacked my little girl, so make sure you listen. I'm giving you one more chance."

Marco took a step back and spoke louder to make sure she heard him, "You can leave now through that portal or you can deal with me. If you go through that portal know that you don't get another chance if you come after my family."

Even Heinous, who wasn't exactly reasonable, understood the finality in his statement.

"I- I- I- will take your kind offer."

Heinous made a move to grab the saw, but Seraph got it first and shoved her fiery sword through it. "Oops!" It glowed bright red before it started to melt. "I'm a wild child, don't know what I'm doing."

Heinous grabbed Rasticore and shoved Gemini into the portal before rushing through it.

The portal closed behind them, and Marco took a breath and rushed to his daughter and gave her a hug.

"Are you okay? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Seraph smiled at him, "Are you?"

"Don't worry about me." He looked at his daughter's hands. "I didn't know you could shape your flames like that."

"I didn't either. I just did it right now. I just focused my power into them and kept the flames closer, and I found it easier to control."

"Probably because it's more solid that way."

Marco mused, neither realizing they were being watched by the magazine staff nor that they were taking notes in a hurry.

0000

Marco's parents decided to throw a party as the magazine came out. They were very proud of them, and made a note to sit down and talk to Marco. It was a bit shocking to find out he lead a rebellion. They really needed to know more about their own son.

It was a small party, only inviting some close friends. The trophies for the pair sat on the coffee table for all to see by a box full of the magazines.

Jackie and Janna sat down the couch flipping through the pages.

Marco sat down, "Okay, give it to me. Go ahead and just say it."

They both looked at him confused. Janna finally speaking up, "Yeah, I already knew about you being Princess Marco."

Jackie smiled, "I think it's cool; you're role model for girls and preaching individuality."

Marco was stunned, "Oh, okay. I'm gonna get some pizza, want me to get you anything?"

They shook their head, and Marco went to get some food.

"So…" Jackie began, "Marco is like super pretty in a dress."

"Yeah, he really is." Janna said sounding a bit jealous.

Marco's parent sat by the table reading over the magazine. It had been pretty much been taken over by Marco and Seraph; the magazine promised to talk about the other winners in the next issues. No one complained. When someone attacks you during an interview, you have a lot to talk about.

Miss Grant and Miss Kim and even their co-workers talked about everything from the interview to the fight. Jimmy had actually taken pictures through the whole thing, getting several action shots.

The picture Marco's parents liked most was the one chosen for the cover. It was a picture of Marco and Seraph hugging, the one that was first taken. It just showed how close they were, and how much they loved each other.

Angie started to read out loud the interview they had with Seraph, "… My grandparents are amazing. I love them so much! They're so warm, kind, and inviting. When I first showed up at their home, they welcomed me with open arms. They've been nothing but loving and supportive. They also helped me develop some creative projects I've been working on. My Abuelo makes great sculptures and he's been letting me work with him. I'm starting to make my own things, and he's helping me learn how to make them better. My grandma is sweet and kind. She writes poetry, and they're just a wonderful. She often reads them to me, and sometimes she let me rest my head on her lap as she reads them. I could spend hours like that…"

They had to stop reading as they started to cry with joy.

0000

Star, in another room, was reading to herself, "If I have any inspiration for being a princess, it would have to be Star Butterfly. She's one of the kindest and bravest people I have ever met. During the coup at the Battle Nexus Tournament, she fought with me trying to keep everyone safe. She was so amazing! And she's so kind, when I first came to Earth she was so nice. She took me shopping to get me things for my new room and just overall was nice. She really helped make it home for me. She's been nothing but kind and caring to me. If I can be as half as good princess as she is, then I know I'll be a good one."

Star smiled through tears, not only did someone actually say she was a good princess, but Seraph was just saying such nice things to about her. She just to go find her and give a great big bear hug.

0000

Marco had just wanted some pizza, but now he and Seraph were signing some magazines for Pony Head.

"You can't have this many sisters." Marco objected.

"Oh, I don't." Pony Head confirmed, "I'm selling the rest online."

"Hey Pony Head, I need them alone for a moment." Hekapoo walked in.

"Uh, sure," Pony Head made herself scarce, still a little nervous around her.

Hekapoo sat across them, a lot has happened in the last few days. She couldn't admit that she was happy that Marco let Heinous go as she was wanted by the High Commission, but like him she wouldn't have been sure if she wouldn't have done something to her she'd regret showing Seraph. Then she read the magazine; she still blushed when she read Marco's interview. They seemed to slant it so it seemed like the whole thing between them was some big tragic romance straight out of some sort of pulp romance novel.

"How are my favorite princesses?" Hekapoo smiled at the pair.

Marco sighed, "Yeah, I was wondering when you were gonna get to that. You haven't said anything about Princess Marco."

"Yeah, you got me the doll and never told me my dad was Princess Marco." Seraph wagged her finger at her mother.

Hekapoo grinned, "Oh! I had this whole thing planned! My initial plan was for your next birthday to be Princess Marco themed! But that didn't work out." She looked over her daughter, "So, you can shape your flames now?"

"Yeah!" Seraph held out her hand, the flames taking shape of a dagger. She'd gotten better and more detailed with it, slowly turning it into a kunai.

"Yeah, that's amazing, I can't do that, I mean I can get a basic shape, but nothing like that. You've really grown."

"Really?" Seraph looked at her.

"I mean, I go basic shapes and can shape heated metals, but I can't work flames like clay. That's amazing. Let's do something special, anything you want Sweetie It's yours."

Seraph's eye lit up, "I want to go on a family trip, the three of us."

Marco and Hekapoo looked at one another, Marco spoke up, "Sure, I guess, where do you want to go?"

"I saw this commercial for this theme park!"

0000

At St. O's, the princesses were a buzz. They had all heard rumors, mostly from Pony Head, that their Hero Princess Marco has a child with the High Commissioner Hekapoo. That was truly interesting, and more interesting things came as rumors about their daughter circulated. She fought brainwashed warriors at the Battle Nexus Tournament, showing that she could be a hero just as much as Marco.

Now the news that Heinous attacked them, and they took her down. All the princess were eager to read the new magazine and didn't hesitate to tear it apart once it arrived.

They loved finding out the new princess was kind hearted, caring, with a flare for art, and that she could be strong, devoted and protective of those she cared about. She loved, and she could fight. She was this warrior poet princess.

Their Rebel Princess was the princess of the year, but Seraph was clearly the most up and coming princess. They all expected her to do great things.

One princess finished putting a poster on her wall; it was some new merchandize.

The poster depicted Marco on Nachos with Seraph sitting behind Marco. Marco was rocking the typical Princess Marco look but with a pair of sun glass and a leather jacket added.

This picture was actually taken right after the fight with Heinous.

Seraph was still wearing the yellow dress, the trim burnt. She also now had on her hoodie jacket combo, and over her head she held a sword made out fire.

Yes, the poster was of two princess riding a dragon ready to kick some butt.

They would sell like hot cakes.

Marco was actually getting more royalties because of the new surge of product, and now Seraph was getting royalty checks.

All the Princesses at the school were happy to have a new princess to inspire them. Many of them starting looking into the arts because of her love of art with many taking to sculptures or poetry because her mention of her grandparents.

The school had started to change. After all the princesses realized that Pony Head wasn't the best person to leave in charge, other princesses stepped up and took charge. Many begun to see how trashed the school had gotten from partying so much, and they wanted an education.

In the interview, they read about how Seraph was working hard at school, and how Marco was helping her with her work.

They took a note from that, they hired teachers that cared about their education and not brainwashing them. They finally got around to paying the power bill and payed for food and other necessities. Slowly the school was changing for the better.

They hired teachers who would teach them about histories and cultures about other worlds and about politics. They even made sure that there were also some art teachers.

If their heroes were trying to better themselves, none of the princesses could think of any reason why they shouldn't too. They were even looking into hiring someone to teach about Earth culture.

* * *

Author's **Notes: Hey, so here's another chapter sooner than most of you expected. Me and My beta wanted to finish this quick arc. Here in the United States, we have a holiday coming up. Plus I am in this writing thing so I want to focus on it a bit. So taking a break for a bit. I have another update in the drabble stories and a story with Seraph about the Marcapoo base and its kids. So check that out. It's been a while since the Tv Tropes page for this story got updated so maybe some people should show it some love. Either we** well **be back to work in a bit. Until then have fun, eat, stay warm and be happy. Leave a review and tell me what you think.**

* * *

 **Beta Note: Your friendly neighborhood beta here wishing you all a happy early Thanksgiving.**


	23. Chapter 23: Family Trip

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs the Forces of Evil**

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Chapter 23: Family Trip

Janna let herself in into the Diaz household. Since Seraph had moved in, the place had gotten more lively. Nowadays Marco was working with her with school, practicing karate, or improving her sword fighting. Occasionally Marco and Star helped her work on her powers, or Seraph was helping with one of Marco's parents' art projects.

And sometimes Hekapoo would be visiting.

It wasn't a bad change though, everyone was always doing something, so it was odd to find them actually just sitting down and relaxing.

So, Janna was surprised to find Star laying on the couch bored and flipping through the channels on TV.

"Hey!" Janna waved at Star. "You're alone? Where's everyone?"

"Marco's parents are setting something up, an art gallery sculpture thing. Marco and Hekapoo took Seraph to some theme park for a family trip… Uh, to Dizzy Land."

"Dizzy Land?"

"Yeah, something like that. So, I got stuck here bored and alone."

"Hm?" A grin spread across Janna's face, "I have an idea."

0000

They were in line, a very long line.

"Ugh," Hekapoo let out. "I literally have all the time in the world, and I'm half tempted to skip the line and just make a portal into the place."

Marco shot back, "We have to buy park passes, and we'll get fast passes so we can skip the lines inside."

Hekapoo looked past him where an eager Seraph waited. Hekapoo smiled internally; they looked like a family on vacation. Marco had suggested they wear simple breezy outfits since they'd be doing a lot of moving and there would be lots of people.

Seraph came wearing some blue jeans and an orange shirt. She traded her usual boots for a pair of sneakers and around her neck was a camera her grandparents gave her to take pictures.

Marco's outfit didn't change much since he dressed for comfort all the time. He just traded his hoodie for a red and white Hawaiian shirt on top of his gray shirt.

Hekapoo exchanged her high heel boots for flat boots, and her dress for a pair of black jean shorts and a yellow cutout shoulder blouse with a fiery design around the neck line.

Hekapoo was a little unnerved by this place. If she knew her stuff she'd say this place had some magic to it, that the park was actually built on a source of magic and it was being sucked up to heighten the park experience. She shook the thought off. This was a clearly human thing and there weren't any humans with enough knowledge of magic to do anything like that.

Still, she found this place weird. The second they had stepped out of the portal a guard showed up and used a squirt bottle to extinguish her flame. They didn't say anything except telling her not to start a fire while in the park.

"So this place is supposed to be the happiest place on Earth?" Hekapoo questioned looking around.

"Yeah," Marco said excited, "my parents took me here when I was small and I had a blast. " He put an arm around Seraph, "I'm glad I get to share it with you." He smiled at Hekapoo, "With both of you."

"Well," Hekapoo looked away, "I like that we're doing things together, the three of us."

"I like our family trip!" Seraph said gleefully.

"… Yeah."

0000

In Star's room, Janna dug through the books. "I saw it in one of the books while we were trying to figure out what was happening with those love bugs."

She found the book she was looking for and the bookmarked page. She handed it to Star.

"Try this spell."

Star looked through it, "Uh, you want me to summon ghosts?"

"Yes!"

"I was hoping to see a ghost in that mansion in France, but all we got was murderous furniture. Come on! Let's do it, it's day and everything so there shouldn't be any issues, and it only call on spirits close by. Come on."

"Hm," Star mused, "okay, I could use some magic practice."

Without Marco around, Star didn't think things through, and she was bored so it was happening.

Star cleared her throat as she looked at the book that Janna held open for her. She raised her wand high into the air, "Corpus et spiritus levitus! Diable Dominus! Mondo Vicium!"

The wand glowed and so did Star's eyes filling the room with energy. Then it all faded away.

"Uh, I guess that didn't work."

"Dang." Janna said disappointed.

The whole place began to shake causing both girls to fall.

"What was that?" Star looked around confused.

"Oh, yeah, Earthquake, we get those all the time I would-"

A horrid screeched filled the air.

0000

It took them a while and they had gotten into the amusement park. Hekapoo was honestly surprised to see so many people just walking around in one place; she had seen crowds like this before but mostly visiting holy sites.

Marco opened a large map they gave them at the entrance; Marco hummed, "Okay, so let's see. Where do you want to start? There is a lot to do and see." He looked at Seraph, "The castle, let's go there my princess." Marco smiled at his daughter.

Seraph giggled, "Okay, my princess."

Hekapoo rolled her eyes, "Okay, princesses let's get going to castle."

Together they made their way towards the castle at the center of the park.

0000

Star and Janna rushed out outside and were shocked to see what they were seeing.

Ripping from the ground were the bones of a mammoth. A spectral mammoth formed around its bones and looked around confused at the world around before moving away from them.

"Uh, what?" Star looked on confused.

"I think we brought back some dead woolly mammoths."

"How?"

"I guess there were really mammoths in this town. I always thought they made that up for the attraction at the local park."

"I guess that it was the closest dead thing."

"If we wanted a person, I guess we should have gone to the graveyard. Still a ghost mammoth reanimating its bones is pretty cool."

"Yeah," Star tried to reassure herself that it would be okay, so the road was ripped up when the mammoth jumped up. That wasn't too bad.

The mammoth bellowed as it ran down the road tossing a parked car to the side. The ground trembled as it continued tearing signs, crushing cars, and tumbling lamp posts along its path.

"Uh, maybe that's not so great," Star cringed. "We have to stop that thing before someone get hurt!"

0000

The trio were laughing as they spun the wheel. They were sitting in a giant tea cup spinning around like nuts as the cup seemingly danced among the other cups.

Hekapoo didn't understand what sort of madman thought up a giant tea cup ride but this was fun. The ride made no sense, yet they were laughing as they spun faster and faster.

Marco smiled watching both Hekapoo and Seraph enjoying themselves spinning the wheel as fast at they could. Marco loved being there with them, but he did kinda wish that Hekapoo's hair wasn't smacking his face as much.

0000

The mammoth ran really fast; it out ran them quickly but the two girls could easily follow its trail of destruction.

There were some panicked screams in the distance and some people running. Luckily for them, it didn't seem like anyone had gotten hurt.

Janna looked around and let out a whistle, "Wow, I haven't seen destruction like this since a movie… where people brought dinosaurs back to life… I guess this is a lot like it."

"How did that movie end?"

"Uh, well, let of people got eaten or crushed."

Star looked on like she had just looked at death.

"Don't worry! I'm pretty sure this thing doesn't eat meat. Pretty, I wasn't paying to much attention in class when they talked about those things."

Star started to yank on her hair. Finally buried his face in her hands.

"Star, calm down. We can deal with this."

Star groaned, "It's Seraph!"

"What about her? She's with her parents. She's safe."

Star shook her head, "It's not that, it's… Marco made me Seraph's godmother. And- And- he is trying to be so much better for her. I'm trying to be better for her. Did you even read what she said during that interview?" Star couldn't help but blush, "She said I was a role model to her! And- and no one has said anything like that about me! I wanna be someone that she can look up to." Tears threaten to come out of her eyes, "And then I do this! I bring back a dead elephant, and it starts wrecking everything! I can just imagine Marco coming back and yelling at me about this, and he should! This is a terrible example! I'm just a screw up! I broke my wand! I lost the spell book! I lost Glossaryck! If I just paid attention, Marco would never have done that stupid trial in the first place. I'm probably not even going to be a godmother when they come back and see that thing running around."

Janna wrapped her arms around Star and said, "Yeah, I know lots of stuff has changed but-" Star stopped her, "No! We have to stop that thing!"

Star pulled Janna's hands off her and ran after the mammoth at full sprint. Janna took after her.

0000

The small family found themselves at the end of a short line. At the very front there stood a sword sticking out of a stone.

Seraph marveled at the sword even at such a distance, there was a simpleness to the design but something distinct at the same time. The design seemed to hold a significance that Seraph could just about understand.

"Okay," Hekapoo asked, "so what's the deal with this sword?"

Marco smiled, "I know this story. My mom actually told me some of the stories when I was very little. The sword is called Excalibur, the sword of the Chosen King, the Sword of Promised Victory, and like a whole mess of other names. The legend goes that the sword was placed into stone by the most powerful wizard in the land."

"Wizard?" Hekapoo asked,

"Yeah, he was called Merlin. He was tricky. He was supposed to find the son of the king. Stories are a little weird though, some say different things but basically Merlin took the baby prince and gave him to knight to raise, never telling him he was the son of the king."

"Why would he do that?" Seraph asked listening in.

"Yeah, I think Merlin saw the future and that something about was about to happen to his king. So he took the baby away so his enemies couldn't get him. But he also knew that one day the prince would have to come forth. So he stuck the sword in the stone and said only the true prince could pull it out. A lot of people tried but no one could take it out. Meanwhile Arthur was raised in a kind family; he even had an older, stubborn brother. One day his brother tried to pull out the sword, and Arthur went with him because he was his squire. And just out of curiosity he pulled on the sword, and it came out for him with no problem. After that, Merlin helped train him to become king."

"And that's the sword?" Seraph asked looking at the blade as a small kid tried to pull it out.

"Well, kinda I mean-"

"That's not real," Hekapoo interrupted, "I mean there isn't magic in this world."

Marco shrugged, "That's the story. I guess we are just sort of copying the story and everyone here takes a turn at the sword."

They got to the front of the line, and Marco motioned for Seraph to try. Seraph stepped up to the stone and put her hands on the blade. She tugged on the blade, but it refused to budge.

Marco knew that it wasn't going to move, the sword was rigged so on the rare moment the attendant nearby could release it and let a person pull it out.

But it was rare usually for special occasions. Marco wondered if he-

CRACK.

Marco looked back to the stone shattered as Seraph yanked with the sword with more force. The sword's gizmo held as she pulled out a big piece of the stone with it. The stone was strong, but it couldn't handle Seraph's full strength and further broke.

"I didn't come out." Seraph frowned holding out the sword that was partially stuck in a broken stone. It looked like the sword got bent during her struggle.

Marco looked stunned as well as most of the people gathered.

"Does that count?" Hekapoo questioned, "I'm guessing Seraph isn't going to be a king or anything, but does she get something?"

"Ah! Maybe later. Seraph put it down! We have to go!" Marco pushed them along before anyone could react. They were all too stunned stop them.

0000

Janna had fallen behind Star. The princess was naturally athletic, and Janna skipped PE whenever she could. She was huffing a bit as she tried to catch her breath.

"Ah, Janna?"

Janna looked up to see Jackie riding up on her skateboard. She looked around to the destruction on the street.

"Did a storm pass by?"

"Well, sort of," Janna explained the situation.

"Oh Janna, you just had to bring back the dead."

"I thought it was harmless!" Janna told her.

"Does Star know how to put it back in the ground?"

"No, she's just chasing after it."

"Okay, hop on," Jackie took out another helmet and handed it Janna, "we have to catch up to Star."

Janna took another breath before she climbed on the board, and they headed off into danger.

0000

It was easy to get lost in a crowd, but Marco couldn't help but look over his shoulder to see if security was following them. Marco and Hekapoo sat down on a bench to rest while Seraph went into a nearby shop; she had decided to get a souvenir for everyone. She had just gotten her royalties, and Marco feared that she would spend all of it.

"She gets all that energy from you," Hekapoo sighed," I'm already dead tired, but Seraph keeps wanting to run around." She said as she relaxed onto the bench.

Marco rolled his eyes. Despite her complaining, Marco didn't sense any actual anger from her words; she was a bit tired though.

"But thanks," Hekapoo started, "this has been fun. Just the three of us doing stuff… it's fun."

Marco smiled and turned to her, "Yeah, I think so too."

The parents looked at each other. There was a certain sense of accomplishment that they'd managed to give their daughter a good day so far.

"Mom! Dad!" Seraph came running towards them. "I got us something!"

Before they knew it, Seraph shoved into their hands some weird looking hats.

Marco was the first to recognize the hat; they had big round ears attached to them to look like the ears of the park's mascot.

Marco chuckled to himself finding his name written in gold string. He smiled happily at the hat before placing it on his head. He was a little sad that with their unusual names they wouldn't get hats with their names. Hekapoo held her which looked almost exactly like his, but it had a red ribbon with white polka dots.

Marco blinked when he realized that Hekapoo's name written on her hat too. Seraph was nuzzling a similar hat, her's was black with silver dots, ears, and a red bow with her name in gold on the back.

Seraph smiled, "It took me a long time to find our names in the pile of hats. They were buried deep underneath there."

Marco wasn't sure what to make of it; why would they have hats with such unique names?

Seraph took out her mirror, "Hey! Let's take a picture together!"

Hekapoo put on the hat and smiled, "Sure."

They grouped up together and looked into the mirror. Seraph in between her parents smiling wider than she ever remembered smiling before.

0000

"Come on stop!" Star yelled out as she wrapped a magical lasso around the spectral beast.

It was dragging her like she was nothing despite all her effort to pull it back. It wasn't working at all. Eventually Star was forced to let go of her wand, and the lasso popped away. Star laid with her face to the ground. She sighed defeated and let her mind wander as she heard at a distance stuff getting stomped.

"Star?" After a few moment, Star heard Jackie's voice.

"What are you doing on the ground?" Janna spoke up.

"Why bother getting up?" Star let out, "What's the point?! I woke up a spirit, and then it wrecks everything. Everything I touch I mess up!"

"That's not true." Jackie tried to reassure her.

"Isn't it? I get the wand; I nearly set the kingdom on fire." Star didn't raise her head, "I come to Earth, and I bring Ludo with me. Then Toffee shows up, and I nearly get Marco crushed. Marco! I got Marco sent into Hekapoo's dimension… I got you and him broken up…"

They grew silent before Jackie leaned down and said, "What's really wrong? Because the Star Butterfly I know doesn't let something like this get her down. When there is a ghost, she'd be chasing it. What's really wrong?"

Star wasn't sure what to say, but then something just fell out of her mouth, "Seraph."

"What about her?" Janna asked, "She's with her parents. She's happy."

"Yeah, but how long before I mess her up to?" Star told them, "Marco made me her godmother. I'm supposed to keep an eye on her if something happens. But- but- I can't. I just can't. Seraph is so young a sweet and kind, and I just can't mess her up too… she's Marco's world. She's the most important and precious thing to Marco… I have messed up a lot, but I can't do that to them…but I know I'm going to mess up again and again…"

Janna and Jackie were certain that they could hear tears rolling down her cheeks.

0000

Nearby people fled the local park as the ghostly mammoth charged in. It stopped short of a massive mud pit. It had vague memories of visiting this place a long time ago. It had changed so much, but it was still so familiar.

As the ghost looked around, it saw figures sticking out of the mud. They looked familiar almost like… its pack.

Its memory faded back to the past, to a warning and fear, to avoid this spot. It remembered the feeling of loss.

The spectral trunk of the creature touched the cold mud, and the green energy that composed it did something. A shock wave of energy rushed through the mud and made it bubble. Then the bubbling began to grow wild as the mud began to turn.

Like thunder cracking, the mud split apart and more of those spectral mammoths ruptured out from the mud, glowing energy clinging to their bones.

0000

Hekapoo looked around confused as they sat down on this strange ride. It was little more than a small room with seats. She didn't get the appeal of it. They weren't moving all that fast, just the room kept moving up slowly.

"Huh?" Seraph asked, "So the ride is a sitting elevator or something?"

Marco smiled, "Something like that."

Hekapoo did notice it, "Why are you smiling? I can't say I get all your Earth stuff, but this sounds pretty boring."

"Just you wait and see." Marco grinned.

"What-" Hekapoo didn't finish the sentence as suddenly they whole elevator dropped.

Everyone screamed as they fell, but no one screamed louder than Hekapoo much to Marco's delight.

0000

"You're not a screw up," Jackie patted Star's back, "Marco is the most safe conscious person on the planet, do you think that for a moment he would make you her godmother if he even thought that was possible?"

Star looked up her eyes red and her nose running, "But-"

"No buts. Marco picked you because he trusts you. Because he knows that when it counts, you will be there for her. You will be Star. You are kind and fun, and yeah you might get into some trouble but you will be there. "

Janna joined at her side, "Star, Marco is a lot of things but he is most certainly a safety kid. If he wasn't sure you'd be a great godmother, he wouldn't given you the job. All you gotta do is be you, do what only you can do."

Star managed to work up a small smile, it meant a lot to have people that believed in her, even when she didn't believe in herself.

A thunderous roar broke through the air.

"Is that coming from the park?" Jackie asked.

Star got up on her feet, "Yeah, that's the park. I better go and put that walking bag of bones back in the dirt."

Star gripped her wand tighter and rushed towards the local park. Janna and Jackie shared a look before rushing behind her.

0000

There are loads of places selling food ranging from candies to actual meals. Some were stalls, and some were restaurants. Hekapoo felt lucky that they managed to find a table as Marco brought over a tray of food for them.

Seraph was looking at her mirror going through the pictures of the day so far. She giggled at the picture of herself tackle hugging someone dressed as a giant rat.

"Put it away," Hekapoo scolded her as Marco placed food in front of her.

Seraph nodded and tucked it away. Marco and Hekapoo started to eat when Marco noticed something. Marco saw Seraph just smiling.

"Not hungry?" Marco asked, "You're not touching your food."

Seraph shook her head, "No, it's not that. It's just… Grandma told me to do a thing. That when you have a good memory that you should stop just to memorize it so you can remember better later."

"Okay," Hekapoo raised an eyebrow curiously, "why are you doing that now? We're just having dinner."

Seraph just smiled to herself, "Yeah, we're having dinner together. I don't get to have dinner with both my parents that often."

Still smiling, Seraph started to eat her food.

0000

Jackie gulped, "Hey… Janna? Don't they say that mammoths used to get caught in the mud pits at the park."

"Yeah…"Janna said grimly, "I think they do."

They arrived at the park to see people fleeing from the ghostly critters.

The three girls gawked at seeing dozens of mammoths bones moved by ghostly energy and covered with a fair bit of mud, the ground shaking with each step.

Star blinked, "How? I only brought one back."

"I don't know," Janna shook her head, "Did it bring the rest back?"

Star didn't have a clue, maybe something with the magical fritz. Or maybe she just didn't know enough about the spell.

She was shaken from her thoughts as the pack of the undead suddenly turned their way and ran.

They couldn't out race them. They couldn't run away. Star took a step forwards and raised her wand; she couldn't run away. Standing before her friends, she knew she was going to have to protect them.

She slammed her wand down the ground and in a flash of white light the wand transformed into a brilliant long sword with the same broken star jewel in its handle. Star grit her teeth ready to fight every single one of those mammoths if she had to.

She held the handle tight, her hands turning white as she did. She wasn't going to let them hurt her friends. She wasn't going to let them get hurt because of her stupid mistake; she was-

And the mammoths just stampeded around them.

"Huh?" Star questioned.

A trembling Janna just looked around confused.

Jackie sighed in relief, "Uh, I guess they didn't want to crash into us."

"So, what do they want?" Janna asked. " I mean, isn't that the whole deal about ghosts?"

Star watched the stampede moved to the hill, and she worried if they would just fall off even as they continued to speed up. As they reached the top of the hill, they broke through the barricade and one by one they vanished.

"Janna, what's happening?" Jackie stared as they vanished bones and all.

Janna shook her head, "I don't know. I guess moving on. When ghost move on they are supposed to vanish."

"Maybe they just wanted to be together," Star suggested, "the one I woke up was far away from the others. Maybe it just didn't want to make the trip alone, and the others were waiting for it to catch up."

The three girls stood there and watched as all the mammoths vanished on top of the hill.

After a moment, they just found themselves looking at the setting sun.

Star sighed, "I guess I should do something and try and fix everything they broke, huh?"

Jackie smiled, "Yeah, that would be the responsible thing to do."

0000

Night settled in, and Seraph looked on as parade floats passed by all of them decked out in wondrous colors in light. She wanted to get pictures of all of them, but that goal had been set aside as now she couldn't bother as she just watched them all in awe.

"Thanks," Hekapoo whispered to Marco.

"For what?" He whispered back, "For the trip? I already told you I'm happy to do it."

"No, not that." Hekapoo took a step forwards and gave Seraph a kiss on her head.

Seraph looked back at her mother only to be distracted as a loud boom filled the sky. Light filled they sky as colors and fire bloomed in the sky. Seraph's eyes twinkled as these new wonders grabbed her attention.

0000

Star, Janna, and Jackie collapsed onto the couch. They spent a good deal of time and effort to fix everything up, even with Star's magic.

"Hey," Star spoke up, "thanks for earlier… I don't know what got into me… I- I just needed to hear something like that. So thanks."

"If you ever need to talk, I'm around." Jackie smiled.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how much I can help, but I'm here." Janna added.

0000

Marco was carrying Seraph, and Hekapoo was carrying Marco as they ran through an icy cave.

Seraph had wanted to try and sneak in one more ride, the ride on a mountain they made in the middle of the park. Though things were wrapping down, they thought they could fit in one more ride before it closed.

Things didn't go according to plan. They sort of got a bit lost and walked down a maintenance hall that lead to the center of the mountain and under the park.

"YOU'VE SEEN TOO MUCH!"

And to this.

They fled a giant mechanized robot with a dome on its shoulder that seemed to hold a talking frozen head with a mustache.

"YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE!"

Hekapoo wasn't sure, but she sensed some strange magic, maybe not dark, maybe tainted by the fritz or something. She was just doing her best to out run it. Marco was partially stunned, shocked at the head. He was sure he recognized it as a famous figure, but he couldn't believe the stupid urban legend about the parks founder was real with a mech body twist.

"Open a portal!" Hekapoo ordered.

Seraph took a picture of the machine.

"NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE RIDE!"

Marco pulled out his scissors and cut open a portal. The family tumbled through and onto the chair in the Diaz living room.

"Hey," Star greeted them, "How-WHAAAAA"

Jackie and Janna yelped as a giant mechanical arm went through the portal trying to reach the family. The arm flailed wildly as it tried to reach them through a portal too small for it.

Hekapoo and Marco both started to bang on it, forcing it through the portal.

Eventually the arm pulled in, and Hekapoo closed the portal.

Both of them huffing Marco said, "I think we should never speak about what we saw."

"Agreed." Hekapoo huffed.

Jackie, Janna, and Star looked on at a total loss. What could happen to them at a theme park?

"Hey!" Seraph jumped up happy to see the girls, "You're here! I brought souvenirs!" She pulled out the bag she managed to hold on to. She brought out some hats with their names on them. Finally she brought out a pointy pink stereotypical princess cap for Star.

"I got you this Star. The girl at the shop said it was for princesses. I hope you like it; I wanted to get you something because you know you're just been so great and-"

Star looked at the girl and felt something tight in her chest, it hurt her and yet it felt so warm and nice. She saw something in Seraph, something that she saw in Marco. Something she knew she needed to protect. She wanted to run away from the responsibility, from what it all meant, but she couldn't.

Star looked at her name on the hat and tears filled her eyes as she grabbed Seraph and hugged her.

"Hugs are nice." Seraph commented, "Uh Star, it's a nice hat, but you don't have to hug me like that" Seraph just shrugged and hugged her back.

Overall, Seraph had a fun day with her family.

0000

Seraph smiled as she looked at the framed picture of her and her parents at park. She moved to the wall and hang it up. After spending a moment making sure it hung straight, she took a step back. The room was her's, and when she first arrived, it had been rather bare Star had took her shopping and got her things, but they were just things. They had no special meaning or history, but as time passed Seraph began to collect things and put them around her room proudly. Hanging behind the door was the backpack Star gave her on her first day at school, the silly expression on the dragon had brought a smile to her face.

Seraph's eyes fell onto a picture on the wall, one of her father and her amongst the other contestants of the tournament. Nearby in its holder sat El Chopo, the sword her parents gave her. Seraph made sure to take good care of it and polish it regularly, especially after she trained with her father. On her desk sat a small crystal, the one given to her by Uncle Rhombulus who still wasn't sure if she had the evil twin or not. She kept a small crown she had found amongst the treasures from her quest to France. On the wall was a portrait of her that Janna had made for her during art class. Next to it was the poster of her and Princess Marco on Nachos; Seraph was still surprised at how many of those were selling. The strange little hat from her trip to the park sat on top of her dresser. She opened up the drawer in her desk, sitting inside was a flyer for the dance, a copy of the magazine that introduced her as Princess Seraph, and finally the invitation to her parents wedding.

Seraph pushed the envelope aside to where a pair rings sat, the fusion rings her mother entrusted to her. She wondered if she should carry them around like her father. She pushed aside such thoughts as she found more pictures, a picture from the photo booth from when the Bounce lounge closed down. She didn't like all the memories, but they were important to her.

She hoped that one day soon her room would be filled with many mementos and good memories.

* * *

 **BETA NOTE: Hope all of you have been doing well since last this story was updated. This update was put out when it did was to celebrate Seraph's birthday which was yesterday. So Happy late Birthday Seraph.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Yeah, Seraphs birthday is Feb 9th and I wanted to have a nice story for Seraph. So yeah, this happened. I hope you guys liked the story and leave a review. Okay, Bye.**


	24. Chapter 24: Perchance to Dream

**Like Father, Like Daughter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs. the Forces of Evil**

* * *

Chapter 24: Perchance to Dream

A pale blue portal opened up in the middle of a nearby forest that overlooked the small city.

A scraggly old man, his eyes half glazed over with a hint of drool escaping his lips. His eyes twitched, and his body felt numb as he walked forwards.

His hands fumbled over a gun like a device that glowed with a blue light before the last bit of its energy died out and went off. The machine seemed to have been broken a dozen times, cannibalized and holding on by a thread to start with, it was amazing it worked as long as it did. The device tumbled out of his hand as he began to chuckle to himself, "Heh, hehe, at last."

He sighed before his body fell to the ground. The leaves of the tree moved slowly as a small breeze passed by. The dead body laid there undisturbed, not to be found anytime soon.

0000

Star Butterfly rubbed her head, life was stressful. It took her longer than she wanted to admit, but she understood why her mother was always such a fuddy-duddy. Running a kingdom was dull and tedious. It looked like she had to lead everyone by the hand and make sure most people didn't get themselves killed. Everytime she tried to do something to help and change things for the better, the people would complain and usually ignore her.

Queen Star Butterfly didn't see the point to it when she was a kid, this all seemed so much simpler. Star asked for a break from the latest meeting of the Magical High Commission. Not that it mattered, the other members were busy arguing amongst each other.

Star had no idea how they did this so often. Lekmet would bleat something that only Rhombulus could understand, Rhombulus would go to crystallize something as his solution, Hekapoo would order Rhombulus to the timeout corner, and Omni would literally phone into the meeting.

Star needed just to get away for a moment. She wanted to run, but that wasn't much of an option. The big puffy dress she had to wear as a queen made it nearly impossible to run. The entire outfit was just uncomfortable, the hair and the make-up, no wonder her mom barely smiled.

Star stepped out into the hall and took a sigh.

"Mama?"

Star blinked by the sudden voice. Standing in the hall was a small girl only about seven. Standing next to the little girl was her father, Marco. The years had been kind to Marco. The scrawny safety kid had grown into a seasoned warrior. He had messy windswept hair, muscles on muscles and a tendency to wear clothes that showed off his abs.

And those abs…

"Hey Star," Marco's voice rang in her ears.

The small girl giggled in Star's arms, "Hey Auntie Star."

"Hey Seraph," Star greeted Marco and Hekapoo's daughter.

Star forced on a practiced smile, of course, this little bundle of joy was their daughter. There was a time that Star thought that she and Marco would always be together having fun and crazy adventures, but before she knew it Hekapoo came in, and they spent less and less time. Then it was time to return to Mewni, and Marco followed after Hekapoo, and they were getting married. Soon after came Seraph.

Star held the girl tighter in her arms; she adored her in many ways and thought of her like the daughter she never had. The young Seraph was bright, cute, and such a sweet girl. For a quiet moment, she thought to herself that if she ever had a daughter with Marco, would she be just as amazing?

"Star, you okay?" Marco asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure, just a bit tired. It's been a long day." Star reassured him.

Star found herself looking at Seraph's face and smiled.

0000

"Man this is boring," Marco whispered.

The class was watching a video, and it was dull. The narrator had the most monotone voice he had ever heard.

Marco could barely stay awake. He looked around, and it looked like everyone else had fallen asleep. Even the teacher was fast asleep.

Marco glanced around and spotted Star with her face flat on the desk and snoring loudly. In the middle of her sleep, she gave a kick and just continued sleeping. As Marco looked around, he noticed that it looked like everyone had fallen asleep. Well, almost everyone, Marco heard some scribbling.

Beside him, he noticed Seraph was still wide awake but instead of taking notes or anything was busy sketching some things. Usually, Marco would say something about that, but the video was that boring he couldn't fault her for doing anything to at least stay awake.

Marco raised his hand, and the teacher didn't notice him because they were still asleep. With a bit of hesitation, he got up and walked up to them, "Uh, can I borrow the hall pass? I need to use the restroom."

Marco noticed they didn't react, so he gave them a nudge to try and wake them. Nothing happened, Marco just grabbed the pass from the desk and made his way out.

Marco walked out in the hall rubbing his eyes, he felt as if he stayed in the room any longer he'd probably fall asleep like everyone else. He cracked his neck as he walked, he couldn't shake this dreary feeling. It's just sort of feeling like a strange day, the air felt thicker and just barely noticeably harder to walk through.

Anyway, Marco did what he set out to do. After a few minutes, he found himself cleaning his hands when he heard some snoring coming from one of the stalls.

"Johnny? Is that you? Did you fall asleep again?"

Marco let him sleep, this happened enough that no one paid it too much attention. The guy had been held back seven years and sometimes just dozed off, probably one of the reasons he kept getting held back.

Marco finished in the restroom and made his way back to the classroom. On his way back he met a strange sight. He found Sabrina fast asleep her face in the water fountain, her hand still holding down the button causing the water to spill over her face.

"Sabrina?" Marco pulled her hand away, but she didn't respond to him. He knew full well that the girl had a tendency to get herself hurt. "Are you okay?" He worried she had somehow knocked herself out in the middle of getting a drink. He tried to nudge her into consciousness again but to no result.

He was getting worried and wasting no more time he picked her up and carried her towards the nurse's office. He didn't waste another moment and rushed her to the nurse's office.

"Nurse Batterbrook!" Marco kicked the door open, "We got a problem, Sabrina-"

Marco was stunned; he found the nurse holding a tongue depressor in a student's mouth and both of them fast asleep.

Marco placed Sabrina in a nearby bed as he tried to wake them up. It was strange. He had waved off the sleeping class and Johnny being asleep as coincidences but now Sabrina and the nurse's office was too much.

"Everyone is asleep, and they're not waking up. Star didn't do anything today. An attack? No, no one is doing anything. Wait, why aren't I asleep too?" Marco blinked as an old memory he'd rather forget crept into his mind. "No. No. No!" He panicked.

He ran out of the room as fast as he could. He rushed out into the halls, and he found a few students and staff who'd fallen asleep in the middle of walking. He rushed into the gym where he found two teams in the middle of a game of dodgeball, but everyone had fallen to the ground asleep leaving a few balls scattered around. Marco rushed around finding Skeeves sleeping in his chair without a care. He found Mister Candle asleep at his desk even though he spilled some hot coffee on himself. Marco rushed to the school gate and spotted out that a car had jumped the curb as its driver was sleeping soundly slumped over the steering wheel. Nearby there were a group of birds that fell out of the sky now sleeping on the ground. There were even some squirrels that fell out of the tree asleep. Marco pulled out his cell phone and called his parents, and to his dismay they didn't pick up. Marco rushed back to his classroom.

"Seraph!" Marco yelled out finding Seraph still drawing in her notes.

"Dad?" Seraph didn't finish as Marco wrapped his arms around her.

"Seraph we have to leave right now!"

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Marco paused unsure of how to tell her, "Did your Mom ever tell you about the Dream Eater?"

0000

Hekapoo leaned back into her chair, she found herself a lovely spot with just the right amount of light and opened up her book. She didn't know why, maybe it was motherhood, but she had gotten into more leisurely activities like reading. The whole reading thing had started off with her reading books on parenting and then she just sort of started reading stuff. Considering how hectic life could be with her job, having something so peaceful at times was an excellent way to relax.

Just as she was getting into her book, her compact rang, "Talk to me."

"Hekapoo!" Marco's voice rang out panic filtered in his voice.

"Is something wrong?"

"The Dream Eater."

Hekapoo felt her throat close up, "No, no, we trapped it in the deepest and most barren part of my dimension. There is no one it could infect. It-"

"Come to Earth, come to the school, me and Seraph are here and-"

Before even she understood what was going on, she had already torn open a portal and was walking on to Earth. To her horror, they found countless people asleep and not waking up.

0000

Janna was leaving school for the day, she was leaving a lot later than other students because of her daily dose of detention. She slung her pack over her shoulder and walked out happy that it was Friday.

"Janna!" Janna quickly found a pair of warm arms wrapping around her.

She couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's excitement. Janna did love how this girl adored her, she did love her too. Sometimes it seemed so strange how this cute little kid was Marco's.

"Hey Janna," Marco greets her. "We were about to get some pizza, want to come along?"

Janna smirked, "We are already planning on hanging out all day tomorrow. If you two don't think you'll get tired of me, sure why not?"

"Like we could ever get tired of you." Seraph chirped.

Janna smiled as they started to walk towards the pizza place. Janna found that they ended up spending a lot of time together, she liked it. Even growing up, she never saw herself having a lot of friends to hang out with. Her detention friends were mostly there because they were all forced together and they made the best of it. Sure, she got along with school friends and hung out with them, but no one really went out of the way to invite her out. Marco wasn't much of an exception they sort of just hung out because they lived close to each other. Janna was always following him because, in the end it seemed like he was the only person she knew wouldn't push her away. Janna knew she was into some weird stuff, that was probably one of the reasons why people didn't usually rush to hang out with her. But Marco and now Seraph not only didn't mind her company, they seemed actually to like it.

It was a simple act, but it meant so much to Janna. So how couldn't she adore those two, how could she not love spending time with them?

0000

There is a story, something to scare people around the fireplace, but like so many stories it turns out to be at least a little right.

There was a story of a nightmare that didn't end with the dreamer waking. The dreamer just couldn't reject the dream, he accepted the horrors that his mind dreamt up and something inside him grew. No one was sure what caused it or how it happened, but the dream took a life of its own. It began to think and feel things that the Dreamer didn't and yearned for a life of its own, one outside of the dreamer. With the dreamer firmly in place, it did what all living things did, it ate. The Dream Eater gobbled up the dreamer's life and everything that made him and grew strong from it

And that have should be the end of it, but the Dream Eater spread like an infection hopping to one person to another. It trapped them in their bodies and drained their lives as they slept. As time passed, its power grew as did its influence, soon whole worlds fell under its sway and spent their last moments in the dream.

0000

Hekapoo did her best to explain things to Seraph as she looked over all the sleeping people in the classroom including Star.

"Yeah, this is the Dream Eater's work."

"I think I get what it is." Seraph mused.

"Good, cause we never really figured it out, " Hekapoo admitted, "even the origin is a theory. We don't know if it's some sort of weird mutation or a spell or if it's just a dream that came to life."

Seraph noticed how uncomfortable her father seemed, he was trying to be brave probably to keep her from freaking out. And she was trying really hard not to freak out. She didn't think something could scare both her parents like this.

Seraph kept talking, "So, how did you stop it the first time?"

"We didn't, not really," Hekapoo cringed at the memory, "we heard rumors about it. We even looked into it, but it's hard to get words about something that makes whole worlds fall asleep at the same time. Then it showed up on Mewni, it was the time when Lyric was in charge." Hekapoo recalled, "Lyric wasn't responding to our calls, so we headed out to Mewni to talk her."

"You and my uncles?"

"…Yeah, them." Hekapoo still found it hard to accept them like that, "When we arrived everyone was asleep. Since we really didn't need to sleep, it didn't seem to affect us. We had to do some digging and started to figure things out. The Dream Eater fed off a world, but spared a person and took over their body and used them to travel to another dimension, that's how he kept spreading around. It was powerful, but it could only influence one world at a time. Rhombulus thought if we could crystallize it and take him away, it would be fine. But that didn't work at all, we couldn't crystallize it, it was a living dream. It could switch into anyone under its influence."

"But there are people awake on Mewni… how did you beat it?"

"We outsmarted it." Hekapoo smirked, "We managed to gather some spells and tricked it into a dream. Once it was in a dream, we took the person he'd possessed into my dimension, into a small barren piece of dirt with no one around. When it realized what happened, I took the scissors it stole and left him to starve. We couldn't save the host by then so we had to leave him as its last meal." Hekapoo sighed, "That should have been it."

Marco said bitterly, "It was on trial, it was my fault. I thought I found a shortcut to finding your mom. I ended up on that barren piece of dirt."

"We thought it would have been dead by then, but I guess it wasn't that easy."

"Yeah, it just went dormant and slept until I got there and got infected. I didn't even notice it at right away, it was too weak to take me over, but I was feeling wrong." Marco ran his finger through his hair, "I just thought I got sick, that I was catching something." Marco shook his head ashamed, "I made my way to a small city and found a doctor. That's when it kicked in."

Hekapoo continued the story, "I kept track of your Dad, he never really stayed in any one place for too long unless he had a reason and usually that reason was me. So when I realized he hadn't moved in a few days, I checked in on him. That's when I found him fast asleep and the whole city asleep with him."

Marco wrung his hands and just focused on them.

"It didn't take me too long to figure out what had happened." Hekapoo brushed her bangs aside. "I knew there was a way to escape the Dream Eater, he'd been around long enough and had messed with enough people that every once in a while someone found their way out. That's where all those stories about him came from."

"What did they have to do?" Seraph asked quietly,

"Reject that dream, whatever it is. They had to reject the reality he created for them. When he infects a person, he put them to sleep and traps them in a dream feeding off the dreamer's emotion, but if the dreamer rejects it, they can pull away. But the hardest part is getting the dreamer even to start thinking the world they knew is false."

"So, the Dream Eater gives them like their happiest wish?" Seraph asked.

Hekapoo looked away, "Yeah, sometimes."

Hekapoo couldn't bring herself to talk about it any more than Marco. The Dream Eater didn't really care what the person dreamt, their own mind made what they would believe. If a person honestly thought they deserved riches, they got it, if they felt they deserved the punishment they got it, and so on. But the Dream Eater was inside Marco for a while before he acted and saw his thoughts and memories. The Dream Eater saw his memories of Hekapoo and remembered she had trapped him. Since he couldn't hurt Hekapoo, he decided to punish Marco in her stead.

For days Marco had been trapped in nightmares, the things he saw for days and couldn't escape it. In that time Marco had lost the life he had known, the Dream Eater twisted that idea and made Marco lose everyone he loved horribly over and over again letting him do nothing but watch.

If Hekapoo ever had any doubts the Dream Eater was evil, they vanished with those dreams. It took pleasure in hurting Marco and twisting the blade.

In all the years on the trail, nothing came close to breaking him that those days of none stop nightmares.

Hekapoo tried to push forward, "I used a spell to let me drop into Marco's dream. It took me a while to snap him out of it and then it found us. It had been paying close attention to Marco. It drew its power from all the people it had asleep, and it had enough people to pack a punch. We got lucky, as we escaped the dream, it followed us. There is this strange little quirk about it if it follows someone waking up it appears in the waking world but it's still a dream, and you can't stab, burn or kill a dream."

"You can trap it though." Marco said softly, "It was chasing after us, and your Mom tricked it back into that piece of dirt. And too far from anyone to power it, we hoped it was done for, but we were afraid it still lingered there waiting."

Seraph felt uneasy, her father was so anxious, "So, why aren't we asleep?"

Hekapoo answered, "I don't sleep normally, probably can't affect me. As for your Dad, he's already been affected by it once, I guess he's got immunity to it now, and he must have passed it on to you."

Seraph did feel a little particular about it like even without realizing it her dad was protecting her from the big old monster.

"What are we going to do?" Seraph asked eager to do something.

"We are leaving you with your uncles."

"What? What about everyone else?"

"Leave that to us." Marco placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

0000

"Keep an eye on her," Hekapoo demanded after she explained the situation.

"Right." Rhombulus agreed, her tone made it very clear that it wasn't a request but a demand.

They arrived at their home with an explanation of what new horror found its way towards the family.

Rhombulus just asked, "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

Hekapoo actually hesitated, "Just take care of her. Get Omni to watch the space over Echo Creek, don't let anyone portal in. The last thing we need is the Dream Eater to try and jump to another world."

Hekapoo moved over and kissed Seraph on the cheek, Marco smiled at her and told her, "We'll be back soon."

Seraph watched her parents walk into a portal and vanish. Her heart was aching, she hated the idea of leaving her friends like that, and she worried about her parents.

0000

The sun was bright, and the breeze was cold with the smell of the ocean and the sound of waves hitting the shore. People were running around having fun. It was a pleasant day, a day just to relax and have fun.

Jackie took a moment to brush off a wrinkle in her blue dress. They stood at the entrance to the pier where several booths for food and games waited.

"Are you ready?"

Jackie smiled, feeling her heart skip a beat as he slipped his hand in hers.

"Yeah," Jackie squeezed his hand, "let's go."

They walked onto the pier without a worry, it was a beautiful day, and they were together what else could they want.

As they walked around seeing what they would do first, Jackie silently wished for the day to last forever.

0000

Star held Seraph, Star felt a shiver go down her spine, and she caught a glimpse of something sweep across the window. She blinked unsure of what she saw.

"Hey," Marco spoke up, "how about I get us a couple of drinks from the vending machine? You look like you could use a pick me up, Star."

Star smiled; she loved how Marco was always so thoughtful, "Thanks, Marco. I'll keep this little spitfire entertained in the meanwhile."

Seraph giggled as Star tossed her into the air to catch her and throw her again.

"Don't drop her," Marco warned heading out.

"Like I'd do that," Star scoffed catching the girl again.

Alone Star marveled at the girl, the small life that Marco and Hekapoo had made. The delight she brought where she went and even if Star didn't see her that often she felt her heart full just being around her. Seraph tugged on her dress.

"Auntie Star? Can I tell you a secret?" Seraph looked at her curiously.

"Of course you can, I'm the best at keeping secrets."

Seraph motion to her to lean closer, "Mama and Papa told me something but told me not to tell anyone else. But you're Aunty Star so I'm sure they won't mind."

Star smiled, "Come on, dish."

"I'm going to be a big sister soon."

Star blinked, 'What?"

"Mama told me she's going to have a baby soon. I'm going to be a big sister! It's going to be so great!"

Star blinked she felt the hearts on her cheeks break, her eyes welling, she forced a smile to stay on. "That's so great."

Why did it hurt? Why did it hurt her so much? She was over this. Wasn't she. She lost Marco to Hekapoo- when did she lose him? When was Seraph born right? No, it was before that wasn't it? Seraph was young…

"I want to have lots of brothers and sisters." Seraph cheered.

0000

It didn't take Marco and Hekapoo long to agree on what they had to do. Hekapoo got a spell book as they settled into the classroom. Marco noticed Star kicking in her sleep, she looked upset. He knew better than most that the Dream Eater ever got to it he could be sadistic. He hoped she wasn't suffering a bad dream.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hekapoo told him, "there a lot of reasons why we shouldn't do this. Plus, with your past…"

Marco sighed, he spent days in the nightmare watching his loved ones die in horrible ways, some part of him knew it was not real, no matter how real the screams, the sounds of bones crunching, the warm feeling of their blood splattering on him… some small portion of doubt burned in him. That ember kept him sane, and when Hekapoo arrived, she managed to grow that flame and free him.

Then it was just that, a nightmare that left him shaken, but he forced himself to remember that it wasn't real. When he remembered it, he repeated that phrase like a mantra to keep that belief going.

"No, I have to do it. My friends and family are in danger, I need to face this. I need to make sure Seraph's home is a safe one."

"If you're sure." Hekapoo opened up the spell book, "Fidentus omnium. Magister mentium. Magnesium ad homenem. Magnun Opus. Habeas corpus. Inceptus Nolanus overratus. Magister mentium. Magister mentium. Magister mentium."

Hekapoo eye's glowed bright, and light consumed them.

Hekapoo gasped, the ride into people's dreams wasn't a pleasant one. She was sure the fritz screwing up magic wasn't making it any easier.

She found herself in a park, "Okay, Marco who-" Hekapoo stopped as she realized she was alone. "Oh no."

She was alone, she and Marco had been split when they went into the dream. She had no idea where he was.

Then she felt something strange a chill went down her spine, she senses something. She couldn't hear it or see it, but she felt it. She felt something deep, it was slow, and it knew that it was there.

The Dream Eater, it was close, and it knew she was there. Its power was always strongest in the dreams. She had to run if the Dream Eater knew she was the one who snuck into the dreams, it would not stop until she was dealt with. She hated to leave Marco on his own, but as the sky turned black she knew she couldn't stay here. She had to keep moving, or all of this would end there.

She had to run and at least if it chased her then maybe it wouldn't find Marco.

0000

"Don't worry," Rhombulus tried to reassure Seraph, "Your folks are going to be fine."

It did little to make her feel better.

"Baw baw baaa." Lekmet let out.

"That's a great idea." Rhombulus said, "Okay, so Lekmet is just going to get you some snacks, and I'll go call Omni to tell him what your Mom told us. You stay here and just try and relax." Rhombulus nudged Seraph towards the comfy chair between the crystals.

"Okay." Seraph whimpered as she was pushed into the chair. "I'm going to use the bathroom then." She got up and headed towards the bathroom.

Lekmet went to the kitchen to dig up some snacks, and Rhombulus went to the mirror. As Seraph found herself alone, she pulled out her pair of scissors. She knew her parents would be angry at her, but she hated the feeling of just leaving everything to them. She had to do something. So when the moment appeared, she cut open a portal back to the school.

She found her parents asleep on the floor of the class and a spellbook next to her mother. She was a quick reader, "Huh, a spell to dive into people's dream."

Seraph read the pages making sure she got everything. She wasn't much of a spell caster, her mom taught her a few spells usually to help with her powers. Mostly saying that she would try and teach her magic later, not telling her too much about the fritz and just waiting until it blew over. This spell was bigger than anything she had tried before. She didn't have a lot of talent with straight-up magic, but she decided to try it.

She was a lot like her father, unwilling to step down from a challenge when they thought they had to face it, especially if it was for those they cared about.

Seraph focused her thoughts and focused her energies into the words, "Fidentus omnium-"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Some fan art from hibikikuze6698 go check them out on deviant art. They drew up some art for the series and the arc with the love bites so go there and comment on the art. And just because my memory has sucks I wanted to say some other people who've made some stuff.** First **check out r4zputin on** tumblr **and** instagram **, they made some art of seraph with** marco **and some with her and Hekapoo. A check out** hammerjarljurenhar **on** tumblr **who did some stuff with Seraph in a video kinda a fate series cross over. They have some more mature stuff too so not for** a little kids **.**

Kittyarts **on twitter recently did a piece for me with the Marcapoo family on their little trip.**

 **zaicomaster14 on twitter and on** their **does a lot of** marcapoo **stuff check out did a scene from the last chapter with the family running from a mech.**

 **I can't say enough how much I love and appreciate everyone who does stuff for my characters. Check them all out and support them if you can. Check out my** tumblr addude **because** I **usually have it there at some point. If you do anything like this please let me know I do want to try and shout everyone.**

 **Okay, so onto the business sorry for the long delay besides the time for me writing the chapter my beta had some stuff come up, mostly getting a new job and moving to another state. So sorry for the delay. Okay, now** I'm back lets **get the story going. this is the first part of the new arc and I hope you like it so please leave a review telling me what you think**..


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